


Drifting Leaves in Solar Wind

by StevieTheCrusher



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Crossover, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Gen, Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2020-06-27 00:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19779754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StevieTheCrusher/pseuds/StevieTheCrusher
Summary: A scouting mission leads Shikako near the front line of a war, and escaping when things go wrong strands her team on the far end of a doorway between worlds.





	1. A Field of Stars

**Author's Note:**

> This is a crossover story combining the Naruto fanfiction Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen and a personalized AU of Stargate SG-1 that attempts to fill some plot holes (but not necessarily all) created by the episodic television format of the original. Merging the two changes the ancient history of ninja slightly. Familiarity with Stargate is useful, but you can discover the wider universe side-by-side with Team Shikako as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Gingerspark for creative assistance, and to Damon and Dona for beta reading.

Shikako sat in her room, carefully switching between meditation and focusing on the tri-pronged kunai in her lap. 

The problem with teleportation, it appeared, was destination targeting. Between summoning and her understanding of the structure of the world earned from her dubious history of reincarnation and getting tangled up with gods, really that part of the flying thunder god formula was rather simple. 

The formula was very open ended; it was a _key_ , not a door. The rest of the process must be in the technique used alongside the tags, and that did explain why no other users had popped up, what with how many of these kunai must have been spread over the continent during the Third War. 

Turning it over in her hands, and modulating her chakra flow to the spiralled leaf sunglasses glowing softly on her face, she focused instead on the beacon. Every tag like this apparently emitted a signal in the natural energy of the world, and could be felt from infinite distance. The problem was that she couldn’t differentiate them. She could feel the beacon directly, but whatever signal was supposed to help her navigate was hidden, or only revealed with the full technique. 

But that wasn't the part that disturbed her. No, it was what happened when she applied sensory squad exercises to this part of her perception, and found that very same signal blanketed all around her. Some of them were _in her house_ , and when she tried to find the seals, failed. She could barely tell how far away they were while inside sensing range, never mind beyond that, and there were so many. 

The signals were countless, and most were only the beacon and not the chakra pattern of an active tag. Which meant she was likely sensing tags beyond her dimensional boundaries, which really turned the mess into white noise unless she was specifically meditating on just that one thing. 

The truly baffling part wasn't the signals around or down below that she felt, but the ones _in the sky_. 

The sky beacons that moved together, making one rotation per day. 

Someone was travelling between planets, apparently. And judging by the occasional flaring she'd felt from them, they were being actively used. 

The conclusion forced on her by the unfair universe was that apparently she couldn't reliably throw herself out of and back into reality without risking ending up _literally anywhere_. She took off her seal microscope glasses, put them away with the tri-pronged kunai in hammerspace, and didn't bother hiding her scowl. Maybe if she spent some time blowing things up in a training field she'd feel better? 

* * *

Between all the things she had going on, her disappointment at not being capable of the flying thunder god was set aside for more immediate issues. The Nara Sealing Group had moved on to medical seals, the war front was pushing farther north these days, and the boring courier missions to everywhere else but the front continued; until, suddenly, they didn't. 

Meeting Sasuke as usual in the Hokage's office, Tsunade broke the routine and turned the privacy seals to maximum. 

Tsunade glanced at Sasuke before leaning onto her desk and focusing on her. 

“A recent push at the front lines uncovered the entrance to an underground temple.” Tsunade starts. 

Shikako saw Sasuke stiffen from the corner of her eye, but she was a little busy carefully not reacting to consider that right now. 

“Given Konoha's history with temples, and your experience dealing with supernatural events, I'm very tempted to destroy it.” 

Tsunade looked about as grumpy as she wished she could be, instead of the simmering dread she had slowly pooling inside her. 

“Instead, that's Plan B. I'm forming a temporary scouting team, with Special Jounins Yamanaka Ino and Aburame Shino included. You will investigate, and if necessary neutralize, any power convergence the temple marks.” Tsunade pauses, and she takes that moment to interrupt. 

“The front lines are dangerous Tsunade-sama. I work in war ops, I've seen the reports.” She takes a less than steady breath. “And unless you're giving me leave to reveal details of S-rank secrets to the team, getting them to understand the dangers involved could take actually running into those dangers.” 

Tsunade shook her head. 

“No, I can't compromise operational security. Which is why it's not _a_ team, it's _your_ team. You can order them to be as careful as you feel is necessary. I'll even throw in a demolition charge requisition.” said Tsunade, with a hint of wry amusement. 

“I'd rather have a field medic kit.” She muttered, focusing on her breathing. 

She was still busy not freaking out, so it was Sasuke who took up negotiations with a scoff. 

“Like she needs them. Give us a requisition to be fitted for war plate, and we'll feel a lot better about our chances. Do the others have some skill that makes them better than an Anbu team?” _Our Anbu team_ went unsaid. 

Tsunade glanced at him, before nodding and beginning to scribble rapidly on a scroll. 

“As part of her promotion Ino is now rated for telepathic communication with her father. If information needs to reach my ears, I want it here quickly.” 

Tsunade tossed what was presumably the requisition at Sasuke before continuing. 

“Shino now has flesh-eating insects available, and they can act as a disposable vanguard where unknown hazards are likely to exist.” Tsunade finished, before tacking on. “Gather your team, brief them in a secure meeting room, and get your requisitions filled. I want you at the target as quickly as possible. Oh, and stay off the front line.” 

Tsunade met her eyes and held out the mission scroll, and then they were hustled out and reality was hammering at her to _move_. 

Sasuke headed to the mission desk to book a room and find Shino on the tracking squad lists, while Shikako cleared intel checkpoints to drag Ino to their meeting. This is not how she’d envisioned her first exciting mission going. 

* * *

Ino glanced up at the feel of Shikako approaching her cubicle, and carefully didn't narrow her eyes at the suspiciously poor mood she appeared to be in. Instead, she smiled and greeted her, and generally tried to improve her mood while also investigating it's source. It turned out that part was easy. 

“We have a mission.” Shikako admitted, and that did not bode well for the near future. 

Following her out to the mission briefing section of the tower, Ino reflected that perhaps her promotion was going to have more downsides than she anticipated. 

Entering the room with Sasuke-kun and Shino waiting, she sat with them and twitched slightly at the flare of privacy seals activating from where Shikako stood by the seal trigger. That also didn't say good things about this mission, but at least it gave her an idea of its importance. 

“Alright.” Shikako sighed. “We have an A-rank scouting mission to Frost Country, with the possibility of upgrading to S-rank depending on what we find.” 

Shikako settled into the seat across from them and unrolled the mission scroll. They were targeting a temple revealed by earth techniques. The front line had passed over that section of land and opened up the entrance, and the line was still held beyond it so they shouldn't have to fight cloud ninja, _in theory_. Despite that, they had a requisition for demolition charges and war plate of all things, and weren't cleared to know why this was so important. 

She also wasn't sure why Shikako seemed so surprised by the field medic pouch on the requisition. Maybe she expected to have to finalize certification before getting one? 

“Konoha's past interactions with Places of Power are classified, but I can tell you that we expect this temple to have significant chance of being a threat, and our job is to identify and remove any threat we find, with levelling the place being explicitly approved.” Shikako bit out. 

Ino was really going to have to invest some time later to help Shikako calm down, if being ordered to level a building with bombs wasn’t enough. 

“Ino, you're on communications duty. Does your dad need to be notified before we leave?” 

She sat up. “Oh! I'll send him a warning, one moment.” 

She turned her focus inward, found the imaginary mirror that worked as her current Mind-Body Transmission locus and poked it into rippling. Her father's face appeared in the frame a few seconds later, and she carefully sent him _A-Rank Mission, Leader Shikako, Communications direct to Hokage_ and then exchanged a quick flash of affection in farewell. 

She opened her eyes and smiled, before sending Shikako a thumbs up. 

After nodding Shikako turned to the boys. 

“Shino, with the dangers being so unpredictable, I'll need you to send kikaichu scouts with a shadow clone from Sasuke. We are treating this like walking into a bunker full of undetectable traps.” 

That certainly explained why Inuzuka weren't filling the scent tracker role. 

“And finally, I expect this to go about as strangely as that haunted castle mission.” Shikako said. “Probably worse.” 

And that brought an interesting collection of impressions to mind. She met her summons on that mission... but she was also eaten by a castle. 

“Pack heavy, I'll make you each a storage scroll for the extra supplies.” Shikako continued, then hummed. 

“Maybe if we're prepared for anything we'll just find nothing.” 

Luckily, it seemed finishing the briefing had settled some of Shikako's nerves. 

Ino separated from the others to gather her expanded mission pack and met them at the supply department. War plate was apparently customized to fit the user, and she _was_ fond of tailored clothes. 

That didn’t stop her from mourning the lack of colour options. 

* * *

Shikako led her team out of the last outpost they'd be checking with in person, her eyes tracking the hawk that would send word to the front line about their presence. The terrain had switched from temperate to frozen as they progressed, and now it was only a short trek to the coordinates. 

Spring in Frost Country wasn't especially pleasant, but it wasn't anything that would stop them. 

The cold was certainly better than the memories dredged up as they moved through the Land of Ash earlier. 

The cave-in was apparently in a valley near the southern coast, and gave them good sight lines of the entrance, but she still held them back cautiously on the ridge. 

“Alright Sasuke, Shino. You're up.” 

As Sasuke made a clone and sent it off with a support swarm riding along, while she focused on the natural energy of the area. The impressions of the conflict were relatively light; no long-term guard posts or bunker construction projects. The background pattern even felt natural, so she mentally crossed evil monks off her list of hazards. 

“Clear of suspicious chakra traces.” she said, before turning to Shino. “How do you control the kikaichu at distance? I was under the impression you used pheromones for commands.” 

Shino nodded, “The female I sent acts as a relay for the queen. Why? Consuming chakra allows for spiritual connections to be established.” 

Interesting. That means the range limit on kikaichu scouting is based on food or lifespan. 

He turned towards the entrance and frowned. “The air is free of poison, and moving through the halls has yet to trigger any response.” 

She turned to Sasuke and raised an eyebrow. 

“Stone construction,” He replied, “Partially caved in halls. Carvings in an unknown language. I'd say at least a few decades since last activity.” 

She hummed, and then turned at last to Ino. “Unless you're sensing anything I'm missing, I think we need to head in. Send a low-priority update to your dad.” 

Ino glanced around briefly before she nodded and went meditative like in the briefing. 

Then it was go time. She passed out light seals, had Sasuke memorize the cave writings in case they became relevant, and then carefully explored deeper to get a feel for the place. 

Most of it was boring cave, but a storeroom had the damaged remains of metal equipment, which she stored a sample of. It continued like that until the deepest room, a large and partially collapsed gathering hall with a half-buried metal ring behind a podium. 

Except... she frowned. “Hold.” And everyone froze. 

That ring, had a much more defined impression than she was comfortable with. Signing for a bugs and clone sweep, she went back to parsing what her chakra senses were telling her. 

It was old, and powerful. It didn't feel like a weapon, but then, neither did the gelel mine. 

In fact, now that she was looking at it closely, she didn't even recognize the metal it was made out of. Shino stiffening broke her out of that line of contemplation. 

“The ring absorbs applied chakra. My kikaichu are unable to climb it.” he murmured with a frown. 

She glanced back at the ring, taking that new information into consideration. 

“What does pure unalloyed chakra metal look like?” she asked. 

Because the closest she'd ever seen was the steel alloyed railway and fort in Spring Country, and if they couldn't figure out how to purify the stuff completely, that said interesting things about this... machine's origins. 

Sasuke hummed and drew his chakra saber and began glancing between the ring and the blade. “This isn't pure, I don't think even Spring knows how to make that.” 

He sheathed his sword and went back to eyeing the ring. “But yeah, that's pretty close to the samples I've seen displayed for sword ingredients.” 

“Asuma-sensei's trench knives are similar as well.” Ino added, frowning and looking around the room. 

“Perhaps Spring had inspiration?” she murmured. 

Waving them forward, she went with Sasuke to the podium. The top surface looked like a keyboard set in a pattern of concentric rings, centred on a large red dome. 

The crystals looked very similar to Spring tech, so that part at least panned out. 

Sasuke finished memorizing the thing, then said “There was a section of wall with these symbols in a chain, a seven digit code. Password?” 

She made a considering noise and nudged him to show her. The symbols had a fancy border around them, with the last circled. Frowning briefly, she dug out some sealing supplies and customized a seal to store that chunk of wall away, leaving a clean alcove where it was. 

At least that way only they had it. 

She gathered the others, determined there wasn't much else they could do without touching it, and sat down for a meal while waiting on a reply from Tsunade. She suspected RnD was getting a new toy, but retrieval would mean sealing this thing. 

On that note, how did it get down here in the first place? It was bigger than the hallways. 

Frowning at the ring was not politely revealing answers. 

* * *

Shino calmly waited for Ino to finish liaising with Yamanaka-sama and Hokage-sama, while he considered their situation. Thus far, the mission had been rather anticlimactic, with how worried Shikako seemed about potential danger. 

Still, an artifact potentially made of pure chakra metal, and at that size, had to be astronomically valuable; even before considering function. 

He was broken from his thoughts by Ino jolting awake with a gasp. 

“Well,” she said between gasps, “We have permission to touch it.” she finished, before reaching into her pack for water. 

Shikako and Sasuke shared a glace, before returning to watching Ino recover. 

Apparently backlash from clan techniques was more common than he had realized. 

When she had recovered her composure, Ino detailed what touching the ring entailed. 

Determine if it could be activated on-site, attempt to discover the function before moving it. If safe and useful, deliver to one of the main Fire Country outposts. If dangerous and materials unsalvageable, demolish the temple and bury it. 

Shikako still looked perturbed, but nodded, and deployed them. 

“Shino, Sasuke, give our perimeter a patrol and seed it with traps and kikaichu. I want to know if the front line shifts closer.” Before they moved to comply, she continued, “I'll stay here with Ino and get started on clearing rubble while she rests.” 

Ino grimaced but didn't complain, though he wasn't familiar enough with her reactions to know if that meant disagreement or unhappiness. 

Moving with Sasuke, they traced the path to the entrance and removed the light seals Shikako had provided them. 

Patrol went without incident, though the darkening sky was of some concern. Attempting a watch rotation this close to the front line would be dangerous. Finishing the patrol, and wiring the last nuisance trap into place, they made their way back into the tight catacombs. 

Shino sent a command to his deployed swarm, receiving the typical memory replies from the female kikaichu nodes through that hive's queen. Keeping that activity from muddling the memories from his second queen or otherwise disturbing her was a hard-won skill. The memories would be jumbled nonsense to anyone who hadn't grown up translating them, so at least that was second nature for him after years of experience. 

They returned to find Ino sitting on a flat rock arranged with others in a circle around a glowing central pillar. Tiny scrawled lines of a seal covered the surface, shining without visible chakra source. Ino was speaking quickly with Shikako, who was carrying more rubble to a pile forming in the room's back corner. 

“We're clear.” Sasuke interjected when Ino paused. 

“Great!” Ino replied. “Shikako made us a camp so we can save energy on the lights.” 

Shino nodded, before joining Shikako in clearing rubble from the ring. As they worked, it became obvious there was a stairway leading to where the foot of the ring anchored into the stone floor. It was a clue as to function, but he wasn't willing to speculate when a seal master was available. 

Sasuke and Ino joined the project, and the base was quickly cleared. They stepped back to the pedestal with symbols covering it and took in the sight anew. 

Then the crystals around the ring lit up with a thud and low screech. 

“Fuck.” Shikako said. 

* * *

_We haven't even touched it yet_ Shikako thought in dismay. 

The ring, _the door_ , had just lit up, slammed metal parts into new positions, screeched, and pulsed with a natural energy signature exactly like a flying thunder god beacon. Worse, another in the sky had pulsed as well, probably a reply. 

With quick signs, she moved her team to the far end of the room and off to the side, in case it decided to fire a laser out the middle or something. 

The crystals were still lit, but the interdimensional beacon had quieted to match all others in the white noise. 

The problem was that it was shaking the ground and a power source had started dumping energy not far removed from chakra into the ring and the aura thrumming around it was starting to get concerning. 

And not just because it might attack them. 

“Every ninja in this half of the country probably knows where we are.” she said. 

Sasuke glanced at her and they shared a moment of solidarity as the unfortunate recipients of interesting luck, before she was distracted by the call. 

A summoning technique was incoming, and she stared shocked as blue energy burst forth from within the ring. 

It settled into a rippling surface, not unlike a confused vertical pond, and her mind flashed with clarity as she realized this was a door. She felt as the impressions coming from the doorway became ponderous and _shifted_ , each button on the keyboard lighting up in turn as it changed something with each flash. 

If this thing had a computer, was this a software update? 

She pulled herself out of that thought, and considered her options. They couldn't leave the way they came. Hiding wasn't going to save the whole team. She couldn't feel them yet, but Cloud was going to be converging on this location with more than they could hope to handle. 

She pulled a demolition charge out of storage and looked at it thoughtfully. 

“Shikako, what are you doing!?” Ino screeched. 

She sent her a look, before replying. “Unless I miss my mark, we're going to have to get creative to escape.” 

This did not reassure Ino, apparently. 

She changed targets. “Shino, how long until we have company?” 

He tilted his head slightly. “Minutes. Not enough to run.” 

Then the ring cut off the light show. 

In the sudden oppressive silence, she acted. “Sasuke, put in the code! Clone and kikaichu scouts through the glowy door.” Running towards the entrance at full speed, she felt an outgoing summoning call fire off behind her and shake the ground. 

Which was good, because that was now their exit plan. 

She planted the charge near the door on a timer and body flickered back, hostile chakra signatures starting to fill up the edge of her range from the north-east. 

She entered to see the ring lit again, her team gathered around the controls. 

“Scout report!” she barked. 

“Forests and a different time of day.” Sasuke answered. 

Habitable conditions, good. It looked like they were really doing this. 

She heard Ino gasp and saw her looking at the ceiling in horror, where they could both feel the swarm of chakra signatures converging on them. The incoming force hadn't reached the entrance, but they were close. 

“Everyone in!” she yelled, putting an arm around Ino and pulling her forward. 

They hit the surface of the door's rippling energy, and Shikako felt her normal senses go dark. The idling summoning latched onto her and her chakra awareness stretched out in a line, quickly leaving the cave, _the planet_ , behind. Natural energy fluctuated around her, giving the impression of impossibly fast movement. 

And then suddenly she was catching a stumble as she moved the two of them down the stairs of this new place, away from a matching ring, to watch Shino and Sasuke run through behind them. The doorway closed again, bringing quiet and darkness. Wherever they were, it appeared to be early morning before false dawn. 

_The problem with teleportation,_ _is destination targeting_ she thought to herself in dismay. Because she didn't hold out much hope that the string of symbols was a password anymore. 

It was an _address_. 


	2. Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, I overestimated my ability to multitask when real life was being exceptionally distracting (yes, the standard author excuse).  
> Many thanks to Gingerspark for creative assistance, and to Damon and Dona for beta reading.

Sasuke flew out the other end of the doorway Shikako had evacuated them through, and jogged to a stop by where she held Ino while the girl pulled herself together. 

It was good to know his life really was as messed up as he thought in the privacy of his own head. 

Sharingan activated, he couldn't spot any activity besides Shino spreading scouts in the nearby forest. 

“Sasuke.” Shikako called quietly, and when he turned her way, continued. “Star constellation comparison.” And for a moment he was confused. 

And then his eyes widened, and he started scanning the sky with growing concern. 

“...Huh. Different. Definitely not winter or summer variations of home.” 

And what the hell? 

Shikako sighed, stepping away from Ino. “Alright, we're finding a camping spot and then I'm going to explain what I sensed the ring doing.” 

She shifted her gaze to Ino and then reached out with a palm full of medical chakra. 

“Ino? Are you going to be up to sending a report in an hour?” she asked in a soothing voice that worried him slightly. 

“Y-yes.” Ino replied. She rubbed at her eyes and visibly settled herself before nodding. 

With that handled, they searched the immediate area for water and a defensible clearing, favouring stealth over haste since Shikako had noticed the universe hated them today. 

After securing the area, and settling a guard rotation based on who actually thought they could sleep after all that had happened, Shikako began her report. 

* * *

“Okay.” Shikako started, sitting with her team in a circle. “First off. I can sense summoning techniques and seals that use natural energy fluctuations for signalling.” 

And oh boy, this was going to upset everyone. 

“The ring sent a signal when we cleared it, and another ring that was idling replied. The best I can tell, the other ring sent an outgoing summoning that showed as incoming where we were.” She said slowly. 

“Next, the controls flashing felt like a calibration. Energy in different parts raised or lowered slightly as it went through them. I think the rings are moving relative to each other and have to update sometimes to still hit destination targets accurately.” She took back everything she said about barrier seals. Teleportation was the _worst_. 

“If I'm right, the string of symbols we found is an address to this door, and when we punch it into this end tomorrow, it won't work.” Maybe if she kept talking no one would yell at her? 

Sasuke interrupted with a raised eyebrow. “We're trapped on a different continent?” 

She shook her head. 

“Unless we find another code here somewhere, we're trapped here, on another _planet_.” She said, stressing the last word. 

Sasuke looked unimpressed with her declaration. 

“The scout I had you send was to check for _breathable air_ , Sasuke. The distant ring that replied to ours being cleared? It was in the direction of the sky.” 

That apparently was enough to get his attention. 

“We'll let Tsunade know we're alive but stranded, get some sleep, and attempt to solve the rest in the morning.” 

She really wished she had claimed a better sleeping rotation now, but Ino needed it more than her. They should really wrap up the briefing though, so Ino could send the report and they could rest. 

“Any questions before we report in?” She dared ask. Shino nodded, and she did her best to contain her despair. 

“When compared to your other missions,” Shino began, “how does this one rank in deviation from expectation?” 

She eyed him briefly, “About third place on the 'most crazy' scale.” 

“How could anything beat this?” Ino mumbled into her hands. 

“That's classified.” She said dryly. 

Sasuke's lips were twitching into a smile. 

Well, at least he saw the humour in that. So, win? 

Hmmm, should she? 

“Make sure to tell Tsunade that I won’t say it, but I reserve the right to think it. Loudly.” 

Shikako considered her closing statement with amusement for a short while, then stood and stretched. “Alright, Ino. Report away.” 

Time to dig out bedrolls and get what little rest her middle watch would grant her. 

* * *

_I Told You So_ pulsed out of Shikako in waves as Ino dived into her mindscape. She wouldn't have noticed the thought if it hadn't been deliberately framed and amplified. 

When her transmission locus lit up with her dad's face, she almost broke down in tears of relief. 

Distance had never been an issue, but neither had it been tested like this. 

Some of that must have leaked over the connection, because he sent a wordless concerned inquiry. 

She carefully formed the important part first. _Team Alive. Ring chakra drew enemies. Evacuation through ring doorway. Stranded on different planet._

There was a pause, where she imagined her father tried to wrap his head around that information, before sending the firm _report_ request she was waiting for. 

She just wished she didn't have to relive the memories to transmit them. 

She watched it all in her mind's eye, how in retrospect her exhaustion both mental and chakra had not helped her maintain composure _at all_ , and how things kept spiralling further out of control. 

Compared to that, the mild embarrassment of her dad listening in on her and Shikako having girl talk at the beginning was nothing. 

Feeling Shikako's diagnostic technique sweep her after the trip through the doorway just made the contrast between the two of them that much sharper. 

And then she caught herself, realized she was spiralling downward, and temporarily locked down her emotions so she could finish this report and go to sleep and this night could finally _end_. 

When she was finally done reliving it all, she sat there in her mind carefully holding herself together and waited for Dad's reply. 

When it came, it was a relief. _Acknowledged. Transmission cool-down two days unless emergency. Be safe, princess._

She dragged herself slowly back out of her mind, opened her eyes and let out a shaky sigh. “Done.” she mumbled. 

“Yay...” Shikako drew out lightly. “Get some sleep, Ino.” 

She settled for grumbling as a reply and flopped herself onto her bedroll and passed the fuck out. 

* * *

The noticeably longer-than-expected wait for dawn was thankfully the only interruption to the night watch routine. Shikako was thankful for small mercies. 

She let Ino sleep in as long as they could afford, before she gathered the team and headed for the doorway. Before doing anything else, she dragged the address carving out of storage and set it on the ground. 

“Alright,” she sighed, “first everyone memorizes the code so we can send it to Tsunade, and all of us can use it.” _in case of problems_ she didn't say. 

She picked it up after a round of nods, and led them to the control podium. 

A quick glance over the keyboard is all she managed before Sasuke let out a curse. 

“The last symbol isn't on this one.” he bit out. “The spot it would be is a new one.” 

He pointed to the top and middle, where another of the angular glyphs sat. 

Well. It's not like she was very hopeful in the first place. 

Letting out a considering hum, she ran a finger along the circle surrounding the last symbol’s carving, before whirling it away into hammerspace. 

“Okay. I'm trying it with the new symbol. We don't know enough to figure out the whole system, yet.” 

She reached out, and the keys lit up one after another, releasing a pulse of sound and energy with each accepted symbol, until she pressed the red dome in the middle to enter it. 

The doorway made the screech sound before it tapered off into a whine that sucked the gathered energy with it. 

“Right,” she drawled out. “now we start experimenting.” 

Ino looked fairly nervous at that declaration, so she gave her shoulder a squeeze before wandering over to the ring and carefully modulated her chakra while resting a hand on it. 

Immediately it drew away any wisps she wasn’t holding back, and she received a flickering feedback from the internals of the ring. 

Extending a small constant stream expanded that awareness to the whole ring, but it was a jumbled mess of parts and processes. She also picked up on the wireless connection between the ring and podium. 

“Key-in that failed sequence again, slowly.” she called to her team, before diving into sensor meditation. 

She felt a section of the internal mess come alive as values filled into a nine slot array that linked up to the larger parts of the ring. The targeting system, was her tentative guess. The last three slots of the array had strange conditions built into them, but the seventh was currently looped back upon itself somehow. 

When the big enter key got pressed the summoning that was building fizzled out, and she stepped back to her team and the podium, to repeat the meditation with her hand on the central dome button. This time the chakra draw was much reduced, and while she could get a feel for the internal structure, something else caught her attention. 

A wordless query from the computer system within, projected back through her chakra connection, feeling a lot like a helpful secretary. She pulled back with a gasp. 

“Shikako, are you well?” Shino asked from his place beside her. 

“Fine.” she called out with a light weeze. “But this thing asked me if I wanted help.” 

“What.” Sasuke deadpans. 

“The computer projected intent over my chakra feed.” she replied, before turning to Ino. “Are you well enough to give it a try? I want to know if there is a mind in there.” 

She looked nervous, but still stepped forward and rested a hand on the dome where hers had been. Ino tensed, before pulling back. 

“It’s mindless, and the Will feels like a recording or simulation. It probably doesn’t want us dead?” she finished, uncertainly. 

Shikako hummed, before stepping forward again. If it was purely will, sealing would trump mind arts for comprehension. She reached out, received an identical wordless query, and attempted to return the first of her own. Twisting chakra into an expression, she tried to send _What are you?_

Immediately it started a stream of impressions that felt like a louder version of what she’d already felt about it’s internal structure, followed by those parts twisting _just so_ to reach out with a summons to a distant partner. It all finished with a flash of that unique key at the top of the podium that they tried to finish the address with. 

“Oh.” She muttered. Well, that explained things. 

“What is it?” Ino asked from her side. 

“The last symbol in the code, it’s part of the ring’s identity. I think it might be a kanji, while the rest act like either a location or the name in katakana.” 

“Can you ask it to send us home?” Sasuke interjected. 

She shrugged, before reaching out and sending that _summon away_ impression it showed her, followed by the symbol that probably named their ring. What she got back was not an activation as hoped for, but an impression of a barrier surrounding most of the computer’s functions, including it’s list of addresses. Interestingly, the gate names fell outside that, but that just allowed her to get a bit overwhelmed with how many there were, before pulling back from that line of inquiry. 

Next, she sent a query with the impression of a door on that barrier, and her preemptive resignation was rewarded by a request for a key that felt like it was anchored in bedrock. 

“Ugh.” she muttered. 

“Okay. So. There are at least several hundred of these things, and I pulled out before seeing the whole list, but the important part is that the chakra keyboard is password protected.” 

“Why protect that when we have the metal one right in front of us?” Sasuke asked, disgruntled. 

“I think what it’s actually protecting is usage records, editing rights, that kind of thing.” 

She paused, considering the problem. 

“If the makers of this thing wanted it used by civilians, they wouldn’t want just anyone to be able to accidentally break it.” and wow, she hadn’t really considered what the ring being all over and useful to civilians would mean. 

“It would take a huge nation to create a system like that, even before considering materials, or transportation of the rings…” She trailed off, because this was getting a bit too speculative and unnerving. 

“Anyway. With the computer locked, we can’t find the information directly. I’ve got one more thing I want to try.” She said, before wandering a short distance away and firing off a summoning technique. 

Heijomaru appeared in a burst of smoke with all his usual horned menace before settling down. 

“Daughter of the Forest.” he said, before pausing and glancing at the forest around them. 

“This place...” he muttered, before focusing back on her. “The land has a different voice.” 

She nodded, before gesturing behind her. “Yes. This ring uses summoning to travel to matching rings. I feel them in all directions, and the stars here are different. I think we have been sent to a distant world.” 

Heijomaru moved toward the ring, and she followed a short distance behind. “Is this like any of The Ways your tribe previously found?” 

He huffs out a snort, before turning and answering. 

“This is unlike any other Way, Summoner.” 

Grimacing lightly, she turned to her team. 

“Heijomaru, this is my current team. Shino, Sasuke, and Ino.” she introduced as she gestured at each. “I'm glad you were able to answer my call from so far. We're a bit stranded for now.” 

He pawed at the ground with one of his hooves in an apprehensive motion, then nodded in greeting. 

“Ino, Sasuke, summon tribes don't always follow our alliances, so if you want the Chameleons and Hawks to know where you are, you'll have to tell them.” she said, before turning back to him. 

“We are in telepathic contact with the slug summoner Tsunade,” she continued quieter, “who is still in Konoha.” 

Hopefully that information would be useful to him. 

“What will you do, summoner?” 

She gestured at the podium, “The ring goes to what look like addresses, and we found one that leads here. We'll search for carvings on this world, in hopes of finding one leading home.” she paused, considering. 

“I don't have anything for you do here, but I will call if I need your insights or an enemy trampled.” 

She pulled out a salt lick and offered it to him. 

“Safe travels, Daughter of the Forest.” he rumbled lowly, before accepting the bar and dismissing himself. 

She turned around and spotted Ino likewise finishing up a hushed conversation, and Sasuke waiting attentively with a preening hawk on his arm-guard. 

“So?” he asked. 

She shrugged. “There's a road. I vote we follow it.” It was more of a dirt path, but this was feeling a lot like The Wizard of Oz, and she could pretend for the sake of cheap amusement. 

He raised an eyebrow at her, before sending the hawk up where it circled above them. 

They took to the trees, still fully armoured since they were probably heading to another temple, as she hummed _we're off to see the wizard~_. 

* * *

Inoichi pulled himself back to the present with an easy glide, before hurrying over to Tsunade’s office to pass on Shikako’s report. 

And sentiments; since he rather agreed with them, all considered. 

He made himself comfortable as Tsunade locked down the privacy barriers, before starting with the important part. 

“Shikako has figured out how to project thoughts at Yamanaka. She chose _I Told You So_ as her first.” 

Tsunade’s eye twitched, before she recovered composure to make demands. “Well?” 

He passed on the events and testimony, watching as she looked more and more disgruntled. He finished with Shikako’s declaration of loud thinking, and the recovery time his daughter needed to safely use transmission techniques again. 

Tsunade stared thoughtfully at her sake bottle, lips pursed. 

“Well,” she sighed, “That makes this S-rank.” 

He raised an eyebrow, before asking “And what of Kakashi and the front line?” 

She flashed an amused glance at him. 

“There’s no way Hatake would have let Cloud take a wild charge like that without paying in blood. I’ll make sure he gets an update to keep him from doing something reckless.” 

Well. That’s an interesting mental picture. 

“And the clans?” he asked, because that was a rather well-connected collection of teens, and he doesn’t want to be the one keeping this from Shikaku and Yoshino. 

She eyed him, before sighing and opening her sake bottle. “Send them to me. It’s classified at S-rank for now, but I’ll read-in a task force once we recover the ring.” 

And be arguing with clan heads and village elders alike about being included, no doubt. At least he didn’t have to work for it, though he’d probably join the Nara for solidarity. 

* * *

It was only a few minutes into their tree hopping that Shikako noticed the shift. They were approaching a substantial dragon vein, bigger than she’d ever felt before, judging by the rapid increase in ambient natural energy. 

“Suspiciously large dragon vein up ahead.” she called, as they continue onward. 

Sasuke’s summoned hawk dove, and landed on his bracer again with a swoop and flutter. The murmured report reminded her that she’d never heard either of her teammate’s summons speak, which was interesting. Tribe politics, perhaps? 

“A large camp up ahead, unknown uniform worn by the guards.” Sasuke relayed. 

She hummed, while considering the issue. Signaling the team to stop, she glanced between Shino and Ino. 

“Our primary objective is still to find a return address, but this sounds like it might be a first contact event. I need a stealth demonstration from you two before I take us further.” 

Shino sent out a miniature version of the sensor jamming technique she’d seen his clan-mate use, and a minor disguise technique to bring his colours in line with the forest. 

Ino grimaced, before tugging much of her limited chakra to the surface. 

“Summoning: Mirage Cloak.” she intoned, and a small puff of chakra smoke revealed a small transparent form wiggling up her arm. Ino pulled her chakra in tight, and became a lightly shimmering silhouette. 

Definitely enough for her idea, but that was a worrying chakra cost. 

She nodded. “Ino, take one of my soldier pills in case you get low. Shino, I need the two of you to do a distant scout around the edges of the camp. I’m more concerned about hidden surprises, and staying hidden ourselves, than the camp itself.” She paused for their nods, before continuing. 

“Sasuke and I are going to ghost into any stone structures we can find and check for writing. Sasuke, can you send your partner low and wide around the camp for a summary of the surroundings?” A quick non-verbal exchange bounced between them, and she’s forced to revise her theory of tribe politics towards the idea that the hawks were, in fact, just as quiet as Sasuke. Which meant they probably got along great. 

At his nod, she set a rendezvous point and sent everyone off. 

Time to see what this new planet had for inhabitants. 

* * *

Shino led Ino in a wide arc as they saw occasional flashes of the bare soil and movement of the camp to their right. Her edges flickered subtly at the edge of his vision, but the kikaichu on her clothes fell within the genjutsu field and was unaffected. 

He had left female kikaichu on his teammates, and was still able to track them all. But. Shikako and Sasuke were invisible to the beetle’s senses despite them still _clinging to their clothes_. 

It was incredibly unsettling to receive that particular feedback, but he had an idea what it meant. 

Anbu. 

He wasn’t sure if Ino noticed, since the others had waited for them to move away, but either way it wasn’t something he was willing to speculate on verbally. 

It explained much about how active Team 7 seemed to be, without being full time in any tower department, however. 

As they took a wide circle around another patrol moving around the camp, he reflected that perhaps it was poor strategy to compare his progress to obvious prodigies, especially ones unofficially promoted for fighting a biju. 

Really, he was mostly grateful to have gained ability enough to contribute to important missions, and was finally available when his friends were in need. 

The rest of his attention was on his surroundings, and he was rather puzzled. The guards were slow, heavily armoured, and loud. The work being done appeared to be with hand-tools from what brief glances they had seen, while the weapons carried by the guards had the same sheen of chakra metal from the ring, in places along the staff. Perhaps dodging wasn’t possible in whatever theatre of war they used? 

But if so, it wasn’t detection that made it impossible, since they continued their patrol unnoticed. 

* * *

Shikako grimaced as she and Sasuke climbed another pile of rubble. If this was the temple they had come for, it wasn’t going to help them get anywhere. What with being long destroyed and all. 

Which had her mind drifting to the second problem of today. The ridiculous juxtaposition she was seeing between weapons with pure chakra metal parts and well maintained armour, and people dressed in rags using primitive stone tools to mine, of all things. 

Which, made almost no sense. 

Anyone advanced enough to make chakra weapons had to realize that steel tools was a better way to mine, unless they needed to worry about something flammable, and swapped to bronze. She should know, from researching explosives in the academy and rocks for Nara RnD. And further, there were no machines in sight, which suggested that efficiency of excavation wasn’t the point. 

As for possible alternative points, the only thing that made even some sense was a prison work camp. Conditions were worse than even basic Fire Country mines she’d passed on missions, and if that was true then the conditions were manufactured. 

Since there was nothing left to find here, she pinged Sasuke over Anbu tattoo and went out and around the mining camp. She didn’t expect to be detected, since these people didn’t seem to have more than the bare minimum of civilian chakra and none were channeling it, but it was good practice. 

She also had to take into account that Shino had probably bugged them both, and her decision to skip the chakra trick to remove stuck-on debris meant they were more easily rescued, but should probably minimize Anbu ghosting. 

As they approached the rendezvous she dropped her more heavy stealth techniques and slowed to allow detection and avoid spooking her teammates. 

As they closed in on the branch Ino and Shino waited on, she spotted Sasuke’s hawk hopping its way down from the upper branches to resume the quiet reporting it had done earlier. 

But never mind that. She had a more important topic to explore. 

“Ino, do these guards feel pregnant to you?” She asked, only mildly incredulous. 

“Oh good,” Ino sighed, “I thought I was imagining that.” 

Shino furrowed his eyebrows and glanced between them. 

“I had thought they could not make less sense than they do upon first glance, but it is apparent I have been proven wrong.” he murmured. 

And, yeah, that’s a good point. She hummed, before turning to Sasuke. 

“Mostly forested surroundings, but with a field that was probably a town not far from the temple rubble.” Sasuke said, “To the north there is a concealed outpost with people in a different uniform.” He finished, while looking incredibly done with today. 

It was still early morning, so he was going to have to put up with it for a while longer, even before considering the slow moving sun. 

“Okay,” She drawled, “we’re getting changed into light mission gear. Make sure to keep a change of clothes and basic supplies in your pack, since I want to hide the significance of storage scrolls if possible. Two first contacts is now a possibility.” 

She hopped down to the ground and pulled two tents out of hammerspace, before digging out writing supplies and collecting a handful of leaves to stuff in her side pouch. If she was going to be introducing Konoha it payed to come prepared for charades. 

While Sasuke and Ino each took a tent to change, she pulled her supply of demolition charges out and let them soak up the nearby dragon vein. 

“Is it necessary to involve explosives at every step?” Shino mused. 

She twists to offer him a wry smirk. “The trigger seals are only rated for a week in storage before they destabilize, and Ino doesn’t need the extra stress.” 

He pushed his sunglasses up his nose and nodded. With that settled she finalized her other packing, set out a change of clothes, including medical pouch, and stowed the charges away. When Ino unzipped the tent door, they traded places and she changed into her everyday ninja wear. It felt a bit strange to be using a pack again, but it was hardly going to distract her while talking to new people. She made a point of not renewing her resistance seals, since this was still a fairly risky mission. 

She stepped out, whirling the tent away behind her, before waiting on Shino so she could repeat the process. 

Then she had to convince her team to let her make first contact alone. 

* * *

Tenten glanced between Neji and the Anbu captain he was losing an argument to. She couldn’t hear that argument, but she knew his subtle displeasure for what it was. 

He had managed his promotion to Jounin and was now firmly proven as an outpost commander, but that didn’t mean he always got his way. Like right now. 

“Chunin Tenten,” The Anbu directed at her, before flicking a mission scroll her direction. 

She shot a look at the silently brooding Neji before reading the scroll. Priority reassignment to Frost Country for classified retrieval mission which required her expertise in storage seals. As her eyebrows rose higher, she glanced back up at the captain. 

“Why the special delivery?” she asked. 

“My team is your escort.” he replied shortly. 

And if Neji wasn’t stopping this, his story checked out. 

“Lee!” she yelled over her shoulder, and saw him perk up. “I’m leaving, you can have my duties if you want them.” She turned away before seeing more than a glimmer of an expression, and tuned out the excited yelling. 

She moved to the barracks, grabbed what little still needed to be in a pack, and headed east with the Anbu guy. A team of three others fell into formation around her as they continued. 

“Do I get to know what this is about?” 

“Classified.” 

Of course it was. 

“And I suppose it’s important enough to travel non-stop?” 

Grunt and nod. 

She sighed, then settled into a long distance travel meditation that kept her alert and moving but tuned out joyful shouts and bled frustration away. She had a lot of practice at it. 

Wasn’t it Shikako’s thing to get the weird missions? She hoped it wasn’t contagious. 


	3. Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multiple languages start being used in this chapter. From Shikako’s perspective (and other multilingual speakers), english will be in plain text. All others, including Konoha-style pseudo-japanese, will be italicized. For perspectives in one language, the speech remains plain text.
> 
> Many thanks to Gingerspark for creative assistance, and to Damon and Dona for beta reading.

Kakashi felt the tension in his back release as he read the message from Tsunade. 

_Hatake,_

_Your Nara evacuated without casualties. Re-secure the site and start digging to the point marked on the included map. Retrieval en-route for artifact, clearance promoted to S-rank._

He moved to the tent flap and incinerated the message once he was in the open. 

After passing off the map to the earth chakra specialists and directing them to the rather impressive mess Shikako had left behind, he turned his attention to combat matters. 

Friendly interrogations could wait. 

He wasn’t sure how she had managed to get out without a single trace, but he was hardly going to let the chaos left behind go to waste now that his primary concern was settled. 

Cloud was already limping, now it was time to knock their legs out from under them. 

* * *

“You want to _what?_ ” Ino hissed at her. 

“Make first contact alone.” Shikako repeated with a raised eyebrow. 

The boys seemed to get where she was coming from, but Ino _was_ from a team that relied on formations, so… 

“You three will watch my back while hidden, and if they somehow disable me, you’ll have the best possible intel to change that.” she elaborated. 

Ino looked pained, before she muttered “I suppose this is the collateral damage Kiba mentioned.” 

Her second eyebrow joined the first in raising, before she turned to Shino. 

“Been telling stories, again?” 

“Many, though it is folly to expect him to start again;” he said, “Why? He never truly stops.” 

She smiled in reluctant amusement, since she couldn’t really fault Kiba for having hobbies. The part that confused her was where he kept finding people willing to _listen_ to them. 

It’s not like she was a very interesting topic. 

“I’m using the main path and going in civilian. Fallback point is half-way to the doorway. I’ll lead them south, away from the other camp, if I have to break away and they decide to follow.” 

Hopefully that was enough details. 

She moved away from the camp, curved over to the dirt path, and started leisurely wandering back in that direction. She felt her team following at a cautious distance behind her. 

Soon the chakra signatures patrolling the forest noticed her and started slowly surrounding her. She made it within sight of the camp before they clomped up to her and started shouting while waving crackling staff tips in her direction. 

The staves seemed to have another version of energy flowing through them, these more faint than the doorway, but still noticeable. 

She primed her gelel stone in case she needed to get creative, again, and smiled. 

“ _Hello! I’m Shikako_.” she said in her current language, gesturing to herself with the introduction. 

There was a wave of murmurs before one of them took charge and stepped in front of her. 

“Tau’ri.” he growled, before gesturing at her jounin vest. Allegiance, probably. 

She shook her head, before twisting her shoulder and pointing at the headband wrapped there. 

“Konoha.” She corrected, before pulling out a leaf and holding it next to the symbol, and then moving it to my forehead. 

Gesturing to the tattoo that seemed to serve a similar function, she pulled her best confused look. 

Grumpy Guy narrowed his eyes, before declaring “Apophis” along with a string of other words she couldn’t make sense of. 

“Apophis.” she repeated carefully, before blinking. Right. Their leader probably wasn’t around, which meant she’d have to figure this out with present company. 

Reaching into her vest pockets, she pulled out a scroll, a brush, and an office pen, before suddenly she had to dodge shouting, grabby guards that were morally offended by her paper. 

She frowned, before starting to sweep south as planned. 

Then they were both shouting and _shooting_ , and she had to learn to dodge orange energy bolts before they learned how to aim at a ninja. 

Which… was surprisingly easy. Huh. 

But really, if they were going to be so confrontational about it, she was just going to go first contact the other guys instead. 

She moved deeper into the forest, yellow bolts zshooming past her and wumph’ing into trees. Putting some trees between her and them, she went full stealth and body flickered away. Horns were blown to raise an alarm, but besides her first set of writing supplies, they’d failed to catch her. 

Time to meet up with the team, then. 

* * *

Sasuke watched as Shikako dodged away from the idiot guards, and continued to listen. 

Apparently they called themselves ‘jaffa’ and going by the tone, at least thought they were disciplined military, even if he couldn’t really see how. 

He’d dismissed his summon earlier, so he couldn’t even rant about the stupidity they had gotten themselves into with this mission anymore. 

He signed for the others to follow him to the fallback point and eventually met Shikako well away from the ant nest she kicked over. 

With art supplies. 

Nothing was too ridiculous anymore, and it was giving him a headache. Hmm. 

“Hey medic,” he called to Shikako, “Those ‘jaffa’ guys are giving me a headache. Suggestions?” 

She rolled her eyes at him and hopped to his branch to sweep a diagnostic over his body. 

“Stress.” She said, before shrugging, “Just stop thinking about them for now.” 

“Do they know of sealing, perhaps?” Shino asked. 

“That,” said Shikako, “would probably make too much sense.” 

“You have a point.” Ino pitched in. “So. Jaffa of Apophis do not like Ninja of Konoha, and our stuff.” 

“Nope.” Shikako drawled. 

Sasuke glanced at the sky and frowned. “Can we do early lunch before round two?” 

Shikako shrugged. “Sure. I doubt we’re in a hurry. Let’s camp to the north of the path in case they pack up, and to keep away from the searches.” 

* * *

Daniel frowned at the notes they’d taken so far from the parabolic microphone recordings. They couldn’t do anymore listening while the mining camp was in a frenzy, and while the cultural nuances were still somewhat interesting, they didn’t really help in a fire-fight. 

Intel had been rather sparse, this round. 

They’d been sitting in the camouflaged camp ever since, keeping an eye out for jaffa patrols, but so far it seemed whatever they were looking for wasn’t over here. 

“Something approaches.” murmured Teal’c, before he faced towards the distant gate, and everyone readied a weapon. 

Okay, so maybe the jaffa were just looking in the wrong place. 

A teenage girl with asian features wandered towards their camp where they all crouched tensely. As she cleared the tree line she blinked and looked between them, before smiling and sitting with her legs folded under her. 

He looked to Jack, who seemed just as confused about this as everyone, though he wasn’t sure if Jack was faking it. 

“Hey kid,” Jack called, “who’re you?” 

She tilted her head, before waving. “ _Hello._ ” 

Daniel’s eyes widened when he realized he didn’t know that language. 

“That’s a new one.” He whispered to Jack. 

“Well, go do the thing.” Jack said, waving him away. 

He crept forward half the distance before sitting cross-legged. 

“Hello.” he waved, before pointing to himself. “Daniel.” 

“Daniel.” she repeated, before mirroring him. “Shikako.” 

Then she frowned, and pointed towards the mining camp and said “Jaffa Apophis.” before tapping her forehead and pointing at Teal’c. “Jaffa…?” staring at him. 

“Jaffa Tau’ri, Teal’c” said Teal’c to continue the round of alarming introductions. 

“Sir, there is no way a teenager evaded jaffa patrols.” Sam interjected, before noticing she had Shikako’s attention. “Sam.” she gestured. 

The new girl hummed, before pointing at Teal’c “Jaffa.” she said, before turning the gesture back on herself. “ _Ninja._ ” 

A type of warrior, or a people, but not something he could figure out yet. 

“Tau’ri” she continued, waving at them, before, “Konoha.” and she pulled a metal plate with a symbol forward. Then she dug a leaf out of her pocket and held it next to the symbol which was some stylization of it. 

She glanced between them, before slowly pulling out a scroll of paper and assorted writing supplies. She paused, before settling. 

Shikako gestured at the mining camp and her supplies as she grumbled out something, before making aiming and ducking motions. He got the idea pretty quick. 

Smile twitching up his face, he turned. “Jack, I think she tried to introduce herself over there and didn’t realize goa’uld outlawed written word.” 

But Jack wasn’t looking at him, he was looking at the supplies. 

“Daniel… is that a ballpoint pen?” he asked. 

He turned, and sure enough, a pen. He reached out to examine it, and it worked as expected. “Yep.” 

“So, advanced enough to get buried in paperwork.” Jack concluded. “Maybe she could introduce us?” 

Before he could answer, the scroll of paper rolled into his leg. He glanced over, and Shikako had the brush and ink out, and on the scroll was… Oh dear. 

“Sam, is that the point of origin for this gate?” he asked over his shoulder. 

Sam crouched down behind him, then nodded. “It is. Explains how she hasn’t been caught. She just got here.” 

Sam grabbed the pen he was toying with, and drew out the coordinate graph typically used to visualize dialing, with dotted lines radiating outward from the central point of origin, connecting it to the circle of address symbols around it. Then, she extended a solid line to an empty spot and drew in Earth’s origin as well. 

Shikako’s eyes followed the motion before her hand darted out and she added a third, unknown origin point, circled each of the three, and then tapped the empty space around the new one, before shrugging helplessly. 

Daniel let out a sigh. It was like history was repeating itself. Just to be sure… 

He pointed at the origin point, then started scooping a small pile of dirt out of a hole with his hands, before pointing. “Buried?” 

Her eyes had sharpened, and she gave a firm nod. “ _Yes._ ” 

Then she scribbled out a cartouche at the edge of the paper. 

“Great. It’s Abydos all over again.” He cursed. 

“Daniel, share.” Jack demanded. 

“Her people dug up a gate, found a cartouche, and started dialing.” he said, pulling his glasses off and dragging a hand down his face. 

“So, wait, does that mean we’re the experienced aliens for once?” Jack asked, scratching at his cheek. 

“Daniel,” called Shikako. He looked up, and scrambled to get his glasses in place. 

She tapped her chest, pointed at their current gate, slid her finger to Earth’s origin, and raised an eyebrow. 

“She’s asking to go with us to Earth.” he commented. 

“We can be experienced and helpful, too? Yes!” Jack cheered. 

“Normally I’d agree Sir,” Sam started. “but somethings… Oh.” her eyes blew wide. 

“She feels like a host.” 

Daniel’s stomach dropped. 

* * *

Shikako stared at all the guns pointing at her and suppressed a scowl. 

“ _Ugh, what now?_ ” she mumbled. 

There was real fear behind that reaction, but she had to puzzle out the meaning of the declaration or she’d probably strand her team on this stupid planet. 

The Daniel guy was a civilian, so he probably did languages, if the commentary from Jack was accurate. The rest, assorted military. Teal’c probably defected to avoid stupid overdose or something, which made perfect sense. 

Jack just felt like a civilian himself, on the chakra scale. 

Sam… huh, _weird_. Not molded and sharpened chakra, but the potential was there. Somehow. And not trained even subconsciously, despite military conditioning. 

“Daniel,” she called, before gesturing to herself “She,” and then shrugging “feels?” 

She just needed one sensory reference... 

Daniel pinched his hand, then mimed blowing cold air and shivering. 

_Bingo._

She slid the scroll in front of her, flipped it over, and started drawing pictures of senses. 

Eyes-see, ears-hear, tongue-tastes, hand-touches, nose-smells, and then the one they probably weren’t expecting, Yin-Yang with a flaming border. 

She glanced up for each one, and got another shaking head until the last, which received the expected confusion. She pointed to it, “ _Chakra._ ” before holding her hands a foot apart. 

She slowly flared her chakra signal in line with her spreading arms, watching as Sam’s eyes got even wider and stopped the flare just short of giving visual queues. Then, she pulled her hands together and tucked her chakra tightly suppressed as she finished with a light clap. 

“It’s gone.” Sam breathed. 

Shikako raised an eyebrow, and gave Daniel a look. 

But it was Jack who moved next. He dug around and pulled out a small machine of some type, reminiscent of a 2-way radio, and flipped it on. It started beeping in varying amounts as he waved it around, but near her it stayed quiet. 

She slowly lowered her hands, but kept her chakra tightly inside, since it really didn’t cost her anything to do. 

“No naquadah in her blood.” Jack said. “Daniel, what the hell just happened?” 

“There are religions in east-asia that talk about Chi and Chakras-” She startled purposefully at that pronunciation and drew his attention. 

“-Energy from martial arts and balanced living. The symbol shows up in Chinese Taoism, generally meaning interconnected opposites.” he finished, while eyeing her carefully. 

She still didn’t know what a host was in this context, but she could save that for after ‘learning’ english. 

If they were going to go much further with this, though, she’d need to call her team in. 

And with that diplomatic hiccup, she wanted to do it gently. Pointing to each of them with one hand and ticked off fingers with the other, she counted them until four were displayed. She held them up. “Tau’ri.” 

Then she pointed to herself, and three directions behind her, and repeated that count, watching as their eyes darted around, before saying “Konoha.” 

“ _Sasuke! Introductions~_ ” she sing-songed, before going back to smiling at these Earth people. 

She kept an eye on them and chakra sense on her team, until everyone was reasonably settled, crouched or sitting in two rough lines. 

“ _So, you almost got chased off twice in one day._ ” Sasuke said dryly, “ _You are a master diplomat._ ” 

“ _You shush._ ” she swatted him, “ _Everyone suppress your chakra, the blonde lady_ _Sam_ _is a chakra sensor._ ” 

Her team’s signatures dulled down, and some tension seemed to ease out of Sam again. 

Jack waved his radio thingy around some more before focusing on Sasuke’s sword. 

Sasuke, naturally, was unimpressed. 

“ _Just show him some of the blade, already._ ” she grumbled. 

Sasuke sent her a disgruntled look before drawing out the first few inches of the blade. 

Jack’s thingy cheerfully beeped away near it, before he turned it off and turned to the others. 

“This kid has a fancy naquadah alloy sword.” 

He backed off a bit, but now there was worry in his eyes along with the cunning he’d kept hidden beneath all the attitude. She decided that was opening enough to continue introductions. 

“Ino,” She waved, “Sasuke, Shino.” before repeating the process with the others for her team’s benefit. Even though they’d been listening. 

“ _Alright, so by now I’m sure that was a chakra metal mine,_ ” she started, “ _And their word for chakra is_ chakra, _and chakra metal is called_ naquadah, _and_ _Sam_ _has some in her bloodstream._ ” 

“ _That’s stupid._ ” Sasuke interrupts, “ _You think it’s the fault of those other guys? All the other idiocy is from them._ ” 

She shrugged noncommittally, before focusing her attention on the discussion starting up between the Earth people. 

“So, medical is gonna want to sweep them for more than just pathogens and allergies.” Jack said. 

“Probably, yeah.” Daniel agrees. “But Janet should be able to keep it non-invasive. It’ll also take a bit of work from the anthropology division to dig into the roots of that language and work out a translation for the interpreters.” 

Sam broke in, “I’m more worried about a link between goa’uld and this energy similar to hosts.” 

“No goa’uld uses that symbol or name.” Teal’c calmly replied. 

“And yet,” Daniel says, “The symbol is metal and on the forehead, half the time.” 

“Yes, yes, historical connections, blah blah blah.” Jack broke in, “Have we completed first contact procedure to everyone’s satisfaction?” 

None of them spoke up immediately, but she wasn’t satisfied with first contact yet, even though they definitely didn’t expect her to answer questions posed in english. 

She thought about the problem of communication, and that first contact like this typically meant talks between leaders, rather than scouts. She didn’t want them to know about Ino’s transmission reports yet, and that meant working out a plausible alternative. 

She pulled out another scroll, and her sealing supplies, and drew out an explosion formula focused on heat, small radius, with a one week timer, before setting it at the beginning. 

With that active to disappear the scroll, she started scribbling out instructions summarizing the ring, and a vague summary of her first contact attempts. Nothing she’d worry about that Apophis group getting hold of, even if they managed to translate it. 

She looked up to see Daniel watching her work, and waved him over. On the first scroll she drew a basic picture of a ring with stairs, and then an open door next to it. 

He settled a short distance away, and she pointed to the ring drawing “Naquadah _door._ ” she said, sliding her finger over the pictures, before gesturing for him to ‘introduce’ the ring, like he had himself. 

“Stargate.” he said, before taking up the pen from where it got left on the ground and drawing a circle with rays coming off it, which he tapped before pointing at the sun, and then fancy main gates like the kind on outer walls of villages. 

She squinted up there, before repeating “Stargate.” and then turning to her team sitting around her. “ _Okay, so they call it like that because it’s a gateway to other stars. Now to ask about if that one-way summoning counts for everything._ ” 

More scribbling with Daniel had his people slide in behind him, and they work out with arrows between rings that physical stuff is one-way, and that attempting otherwise leads to… disappearances, at least. She couldn’t ask for a proper elaboration. 

But, they’d introduced their walkie-talkie style 2-way radios, and drew little wavy lines between antennas going both ways, so she confirmed they had those with a sketch of Konoha’s ear-piece-style equivalent. 

With that, it was just a matter of scribbling a sentence saying that on the self-destruct note, rolling it up, and then conveying that they’d leave it behind for their people to find. 

There wouldn’t be any people, but she needed plausible deniability. 

She turned to Sasuke, and murmured, “ _Make sure that if they take us with them, you get the address._ ” to which he nodded. 

It didn’t look like Jack was having his team clean up the camouflage sheet hanging above them, or gather packs, so they’d probably have a short wait before anything interesting happened. Given that the mining camp was probably still running searches, maybe including guarding the stargate, it made sense. But it left her time to think, and that was a mixed blessing. 

On one hand, she could think about the afterlife and steadily freak out about the possibility of finding another version of herself somewhere on this mission. 

On the other hand, she used english characters in her sealing and there was no way that would stay secret if Konoha was going to be interacting with english speakers at all. 

It could turn into a mess. Which meant it was now her job as team leader to fix that. 

She settled her breathing, re-aligned her thinking back to her Oath to the clan upon graduating; _team, Clan, allies, Konoha_ , she had a lot to protect, and in extraordinary circumstances she’d have to work out a solution from the very founding goals. 

So, existential challenges could be set aside from that perspective. She very carefully didn’t dump that into her shadow, since the potential spiritual disharmony from such an old and fundamental grief would do nothing good. 

Loan words, is what her mind jumped to, as a solution to the rest. The mission rankings didn’t share the written symbols, but the sounds came from somewhere, and matched english. Kirabi, _killer bee_ , likewise. There were probably other examples that just weren’t immediately coming to mind, but it was enough to mesh with an explanation of how seal languages worked. Leverage that, as an explanation for quick english comprehension, and she’d handle the Earth side of things. 

As for her team and Konoha, trying that explanation would hold her back, and they wouldn’t buy it, anyway. The language, maybe, but the hummed songs, the mysterious references that suddenly started linking up... She had needed the outlet, some ability to express who she had been _before_ , or she would have fallen apart; so she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. 

But it complicated things now. 

Her eyes slid to the first scroll and its stargate drawings. _Teleportation,_ she thought leadingly. And what was teleportation, technically? Disappearing from somewhere and appearing somewhere else? It wasn’t the best description of her first death, but it wasn’t _wrong_. 

If she convinced her team that her understanding of the subject wasn’t pure theory, that there had been a practical misstep on top of that… Well, all they’d need to know is where she’d been before was different enough that any knowledge she might have from there was unlikely to be intel. 

She could use that to direct investigations, and it wouldn’t hold her back. It was probably the closest to ideal she’d manage with the information and time available. 

She noticed Sam and Daniel heading their way, so she settled her thoughts and shuffled around until her shoulder was pressed into Ino’s, and smiled. For now, a charm campaign would be best. 

* * *

Sam made her way over to where the teenagers sat together quietly, dragging Daniel along to help with comprehension. She still had serious doubts they could accomplish what Daniel had passed along, but that part could be set aside. If they were manipulating energy then she was likely the most capable of figuring out which type and how. 

Shikako shifted around and smiled at them, including the blonde girl in the forming conversation. 

They got as far as sitting down, before she had to hold back a gasp. Her eyes widened as she watched blue eyes blink at her. With narrow vertical pupils. 

“Daniel,” she said slowly, “I don’t think humans have eyes like that.” 

He hummed, “It’s interesting, but we can’t prove they’re human yet, anyway.” 

Interesting, he says. Well, since no one else was willing to share her discomfort, it was back to business. 

“Shikako, could you show us your chakra?” she asked. 

She dragged her portable detection equipment out while Daniel sorted out explaining that, then held it stable in her lap. Shikako turned to her and held out a pointer finger. 

Which… started glowing blue. 

She felt a whisper of that unsettling resonance she got around goa’uld hosts, but it was much reduced compared to before. 

“We can’t let Jack see her do that, or the E.T. references will never stop.” Daniel muttered. 

She covered her smile with one hand, while holding out the detector with the other. Shikako glances between her and the detector with wide innocent eyes. 

The blonde girl, what was her name? She leaned slightly into Shikako, asking something, while Sam continued to cycle tests to find something that would pick up what was going on. 

“Ino,” Shikako scolded, before she continued the chiding tone and earned a giggle from Ino in reply. 

At least Sam would have a hard time forgetting her name from now on. 

The tests were less successful. She didn’t have a spectrometer, so she couldn’t even check if the colour was pure coherent blue or some combination. 

Then she blinked in confusion because suddenly the glow was bright green. Shikako sent her a questioning look, and she glanced down at the sensor display. Still nothing. Maybe she was helping? 

Sam looked back up, and shook her head. 

Shikako reached down between them and held her finger a short distance above the ground before closing her eyes. 

This time an electrical field started forming, before an arc of electricity flashed between the extended finger and the ground. Left behind were cracks spidering out from the impact in all directions, while the dissipating charge rang on various frequencies and raised the hairs on her arms. 

Shikako opened her eyes as it ended, and smiled at her. 

Sam glanced between Shikako and the cracks rapidly before turning to Daniel. “I could only detect one of those, and these readings are closer to a lightning bolt than electronics.” 

“Are you having fun over there without me?” Jack called, and she startled. 

“Sir,” Sam said and turns to face him, “she shot an electric discharge out of her hand.” 

“Among other things.” Daniel added. 

“Oh. Was the lightning the coolest one?” 

“So far.” she said, and of course that’s what he’d care about. “But we really don’t know the properties of the others, so it’s hard to say.” 

“So, did that answer your question?” Daniel asked. 

She was forced to give him a sheepish smile. “I think I just ended up with a dozen more, instead.” 

* * *

“Kakashi-sensei” Tenten greeted, glancing around the camp. 

He hummed and glanced up from his book. 

“Tenten and company.” he said, flicking his fingers at the Anbu squad hiding in the sparse trees. 

“I hear you have secret stuff needing sealing,” she started, as she walked up the ridge at his side. “Why involve me instead of Shikako?” 

He squinted at her in an oddly cheerful way then gestured vaguely over the hill as they cleared the ridge. “Mah, mah, who says she isn’t?” he asked, noncommittally. 

As the view opened up, her jaw dropped. The valley below was filled with rubble, and had a crater blown out of the far side. 

“Oh.” she mumbled. 

Given that he seemed relatively cheerful, Shikako must be fine. 

“She didn’t stick around to finish up?” 

“She decided to evacuate with her team, rather than traumatize them by fighting 3 platoons of Cloud ninja as they escaped.” he said mildly. 

Oh, boy. 

“This is what retreat looks like?” she asked, weakly. 

“Well, this is the distraction and backup. The escape seems to have involved the secret stuff.” 

He led her into a recently reinforced mine-shaft, cutting its way through various partially collapsed corridors, until they came to a monolithic ring in a large cavern. 

“The ring and the podium, both made of chakra metal, need to be sealed, and delivered directly to the Hokage. No diversions. Understood?” 

“Yes.” She nodded, while staring at the thing. All that chakra metal would be a pain to compensate for, but at least she still had the adjustable size formula from the NaraTen project. She shoved her hands into infinite pockets and pulled forth scribing supplies. 

Time to get to work. 


	4. Understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Gingerspark for creative assistance, and to Damon and Dona for beta reading.

Tsunade glanced up from her paperwork as Heihou Tsukeme from logistics entered her office, before going back to work. 

Today had been grueling, and it had been made abundantly clear to her by multiple parties that people would be watching for her response to the thus far unexplained chakra flare from the war front. 

She could try to keep it a secret… or she could throw out false trails and half-truths until the most annoying parties _thought_ they knew what was going on, and would leave her alone. This meeting played a part in that. 

When the head of the barrier team, Takada Rokushou, had arrived, and Anbu Commander Zou had appeared behind her, she sealed the room and looked up from her work. 

“I have an S-rank directive for you to complete; the construction of an Anbu class training hall with connected secure communal office. It will need three head offices for the director rotation, and a security checkpoint at the tower access.” 

“And my role, Godaime-sama?” Takada asked serenely. From reports, his training trip to the fire temple years ago had left him rather insufferably tranquil. It limited those willing to stay on the barrier squad to the least confrontational. 

“Chakra isolation barriers. I want a jinchuriki to be able to train in that hall without drawing notice.” 

Cloud conveniently had two, and until the confusion surrounding the ring doorway’s chakra flare settled at the war front, people would easily believe one was incapacitated and retrieved by her people. 

“Anbu will be staffing the checkpoint, and organizing further dampening in the training hall. Heihou, I have the placement requirements for this construction here. Memorize it, since the records won’t be leaving my office.” 

She slid a scroll towards him that would further the story she was constructing. Completely underground, connected by tunnel from the administrative tower to behind the mountain, utilities locally managed to limit needed personnel for the construction and erase paper trails. Placed so that if the facility suffered a catastrophic explosion, the blast would be deflected away from the village by the mountainside. 

After several moments of reading, he nodded and stepped back. 

She signed below the desk edge for Zou to stay, before sending the others off. “You have two weeks to complete this. Dismissed.” 

When the door closed and she was able to raise the security barriers again, she glanced at Zou. 

“Install an Anbu headquarters entry in the third private office, and convert it into an archive. I will call on Cat to finalize the training hall when everything is prepared, so his squad is on local patrol for now.” She trusted Zou, but Tenzou’s wood release would further the illusion more with less details. She was sure he could form a support frame that would dampen the worst of the shaking that ring had done when activated. 

She dropped the barriers before waving Zou off and settling back into her seat with a sigh. 

Now she just had to staff Konoha’s newest department and use a different cover story that would make people feel clever when they found this one. 

It’s not like anyone would believe the truth, either way. 

* * *

Jack did his best to conceal his poor mood. He wasn’t optimistic about his success. 

Running into teenagers from an unknown alien civilization while camped on one of Apophis’ backwater mining worlds was within his team’s range of luck, and their story wasn’t exactly suspicious, but his instincts itched. 

At least it wasn’t in the threat-to-your-life way. 

The first girl, Shikako, had somehow tracked them down, since he didn’t believe for a moment her wandering into the camp was accidental. 

She was doing an excellent ‘cute kid’ act, to the point Carter and Daniel didn’t seem to notice, but he had been a dad, and he could catch the too-innocent cues. 

She and her friends (squad?) were calm and composed, moved with balanced steps that hinted at training, and that grated. It wasn’t enough to prove they were conscripted as child soldiers, but it made the worst case scenario disturbing. A hostile race with unknown technology willing to sacrifice children to gate experiments was deeply worrying. Hopefully that wasn’t what this was. 

And speaking of unknown tech, they apparently manipulated energy that baffled Carter. They could have extra physical abilities like they’d seen in the crystal race of the 562 desert, or they could be hiding their tech exceptionally well, like the Nox did. That brought another worry to mind. 

Were humans still ‘too young’? 

His team had met the Nox on their forest world and not understood their way of speaking in circles. Such as that they had no reason to fear the Goa’uld conquering them, using casual disregard but providing no details. In the end they had been dismissed like children. 

They had saved the Tollan evacuation crew from their former homeworld and the lava that was quickly covering it, and been called primitive. It was made worse by those NID idiots trying to lock the crew up to interrogate them on their tech. 

And then Thor of the Asgard, again calling them too young, effortlessly swatted a Goa’uld invasion on Cimmeria, one they had caused by destroying his automated defences. Nice guy, but knowing it was possible to win and have it be out of reach had also been grating. 

So with that ignoble history, he had to be very careful to treat these kids with respect, and make sure everyone else did too. But he also had to keep them monitored, because if they decided to cause problems back at base, they could start tossing lightning around and that would be bad. 

Airmen and sensitive electronics didn’t cope well with lightning. 

But it was clear already that he would be taking them back; All that was missing were the details. It was probably time to talk them through what would be needed for them to live in the mountain for a while. 

* * *

Shikako watched subtly as Jack moved to pull Teal’c and Sam over to where she was directing her visible attention to a conversation with Daniel. Well, it was sort of a conversation. Word game? 

So far they’d established the very basics of sentence structure, and soon she’d be able to get away with stringing disjointed english sentences together. Daniel seemed to have a note taking system for languages, and was starting to get the hang of translating in the other direction. 

But back to Jack, it seemed like they would be doing something diplomatic, to include everyone. The Earth people sat in a semicircle around her, so she exaggerated her confusion before scooting back a short ways and glancing questioningly at Daniel. 

Daniel in turn glanced questioning at Jack. 

“Get your camera rolling Daniel, and have her call over the others.” Jack grunted. 

Someone was grumpy. 

She decided to preempt that line of action. Waving a finger at where her team was gathered and watching, she asked “Others?” and when receiving a nod she turned. 

“ _Looks like they’ve decided to put us through a security clearance assessment._ ” she called before waving everyone over. 

“ _Finally._ ” Sasuke grumbled as he sat to her left. 

He was in a terrible mood if he was bothering to verbalize it, so perhaps the sheer strangeness of everything was getting to him. It certainly wasn’t because of unorthodox mission completion, what with all she’d helped put him through from that angle. She bumped his shoulder in comfort before focusing back on Daniel and his camcorder. 

“I am Jack O’Neill,” Jack started. “colonel in the United States Air Force. I need to examine your supplies before we go any further.” Daniel did a rather impressive collection of spoken words, hand gestures with his free hand, and drawings to convey that. 

Once he was done she paused, before slowly replying. “Shikako Nara, Jounin. Yes.” With that, she turned to her team. “ _Lay out your stuff, they want to have a look._ ” 

She unclipped pouches, keeping the medical kit front and center, before flipping her pack around into the middle of the gathering and sliding the contents onto her laid out bedroll. 

Sam poked through her and Ino’s clothes while Jack did the same for the boys, before they moved on to camping stuff and then paused on the weapons. Jack’s face was blatantly unreadable, but Sam looked thoughtful and Daniel perked up. She turned to find Teal’c and Shino having a staring match. Well, at least they were keeping themselves entertained. 

As she expected, the storage scrolls only got a cursory inspection, before they moved on to her medical kit. She didn’t try to hide her wariness at them handling it, since she suspected this would be the thing that would interest them, unless they picked through her stack of seal tags to find the ones with english writing dotted within. 

“Drug bottles and bandages.” Jack noted. “You figure she’s the one keeping them healthy?” 

“Healthy.” she sounded out, before she mimed wrapping a bandage around her arm, and receiving a nod from Daniel. “Yes.” 

“She fairly quick at this language thing.” Jack said, bemused. 

She didn’t buy it, since his eyes were still tight and he had glanced between the kit and the kunai a short distance away. He’d definitely decided he didn’t like something about them, but she couldn’t exactly ask. Even with english, he’d probably just deflect. 

Daniel reached out and examined the top seal tag of her stack, which was a Konoha Standard knock-out formula and therefore gibberish to the untrained. 

“This is interesting. Some asiatic religions use paper talismans like this for warding off evil spirits by invoking benevolent spirits or gods.” 

“So they haven’t turned out like the Tollen?” 

She had to wonder how many aliens these guys had met that casually bringing up a species was Jack’s go-to method of discussing social variety. 

Daniel shook his head. “Spirituality could easily link together with their chakra, giving them proof enough to reinforce beliefs.” 

Sam cut in. “I’m having trouble gauging their technological level. We might need to do chemical testing on the medication to narrow it down, but she doesn’t look ready to give up the first aid kit.” Sam finished with a gesture at the medical kit in front of her. 

She was glad that was coming across clearly, because it was the one thing outside of storage that she couldn’t replace, and rather liked what having it symbolized. 

Someone could get hurt and she could make that okay. 

She channeled that feeling into a look of fragile hope and hugged the kit to her body, and found that she could indeed fool Jack if she was honest about the source of her expression. His cold eyes had softened some and he moved things along. 

“Daniel, the last thing we need to ask about is food, to speed along allergy testing.” 

“Right. Food.” Daniel started, pulling out a ration of some type, before tapping it and then his mouth. 

“Food. Healthy?” she replied, and at that confirmation, she broke Shino out of his silent competition with Teal’c. “ _Shino, your hive will handle poisons in food, right?_ ” 

“ _Yes. You may wish to monitor my vitals if we are evaluating such in the field, however._ ” 

“ _You’re the only person using konoha standard rations, I think._ ” she said, belatedly, since the Akimichi wouldn’t look fondly on her handing over restricted rations. “ _Give Daniel two bars, and taste his rations. For this mission I’ll supply Akimichi rations if you need them._ ” 

She stood and smoothly swung her medical pouch back into place, before making her way behind Sasuke to press a hand against Shino’s back out of sight, while moving the other to his off-hand pulse-point. Pressed this close, she could begin to feel the quiet hum of his hive rather than just sensing it. She activated her diagnostic and focused in on his immune system and began sweeping for reactions as he sampled the foreign food. After waiting a minute just to be sure, she pulled back. 

“Shino is healthy.” she chirped out. 

Sam looked fairly dubious at her announcement, but the rest seemed to take that at face value. Teal’c had raised an eyebrow, though. 

“Colonel O’Neill, is it possible that Shino has an enhanced defence against disease, much like my own?” And that was interesting. A jaffa thing, maybe? 

Jack waved him off. “We’ll ask once the language is sorted out, if Janet doesn’t find something.” 

“Janet is a doctor,” Daniel addressed her, with helpful bandaging and pulse-point gestures. “She will check if people of Konoha are healthy on Earth.” 

She nodded slowly, while thinking quickly. The Earth she remembered from before could clone things. Not easily, perhaps, but they could do it. If she was going to submit her team to testing, they’d have to make damn sure the blood drawn got destroyed afterwards, especially since she didn’t know Earth’s year yet. 

There was also some concern about accurate summation of abilities and medical history being highly classified, but she strongly doubted they had chakra adepts to make comparisons to, and gain understanding from. The risks on that end were relatively low. 

“ _Can we watch the medical tests?_ ” she asked slowly, for Daniel’s benefit. She also threw in the scanning-with-eyes and pouring-test-tubes gestures, because apparently doing this game for an hour had given her a taste for it. Asking that way also let her team know exactly what was going on. 

“ _What are they testing for?_ ” Sasuke asked with narrowed eyes. 

“ _Foreign plagues and food reactions, I think._ ” she replied after a moment. “ _We’ll be keeping an eye on any blood they take no matter what they test, though._ ” 

She turned to Daniel with a questioning look. 

He bit his lip. “I think we can convince the general to allow them in the testing lab if they are under watch, right Jack?” 

“Daniel,” Jack started, reprovingly. “The labs are Janet’s domain. But yes, an airmen watch rotation is likely to continue for a while.” 

She hummed, before attempting to clarify. “See yes, touch no?” Jack nodded, which was good enough. 

Jack clapped. “Alright! That should count as a verbal agreement for the refugee protocol. Let’s pack up and see what kind of mess they stirred up at the gate.” 

* * *

Ino listened carefully as Shikako explained the details they’d missed as she communicated with Daniel. She wasn’t enthused about a foreign military doing testing, but as Shikako pointed out, they didn’t know what the threats were in this new place, and bowing to these ‘Earth’ people’s experience, at least on the surface, would be best. 

As they followed the foreigners slowly through the darkening forest, she finally had a chance to bring up the language problem properly. 

“Shikako.” she murmured. “Yamanaka don’t use it often, but we have a language transfer technique.” 

“Are you even well enough to use mind techniques yet?” Shikako asked back. 

She frowned, before shaking her head. “Two days recovery starting from last transmission, excluding emergencies.” 

“This isn’t an emergency, but noted. The problem is that it would violate first contact procedure unless we ask, and that would reveal you can do it.” 

“But, we’ll never be able to learn it fast enough to be useful.” she complained. 

“It won’t be a problem, but I’ll have to explain later.” Shikako said back, mysteriously. “The note includes our intention to follow these guys home, so we don’t have to report that either. Rest for now.” Then Shikako turned to Sasuke-kun. “If you need to use your eyes, use an area genjutsu and make sure there aren’t any cameras watching.” 

He grunted back, before turning forward again to watch the foreigners lead them closer still to the stargate. 

Ino really wished she had some diplomatic training right now, instead of pure intel. She didn’t know the rules they were under well enough to predict what was coming, and as much as Shikako tried to accommodate her preference for well-detailed plans to frame formations in, she wasn’t a natural at it. Ino got the distinct impression they could still be spiralling even further into chaos than they already had. 

It was at that point that Daniel stopped them and waited with them in a small clearing, while dusk slowly fading into night. The other three crept forward and used unfamiliar hand signs to spread out with coordination. They moved to the edge of her sensing range where she could feel faint activity, before the noise started. 

Muffled explosions and buzzing from those staff weapons, and an unfamiliar popping noise that was grouped into rapid bursts. Her eyes widened as she realized they had projectiles and how vulnerable Shikako had left herself by approaching them as she had. 

She glanced at Shikako, and found that she didn’t look confused or horrified, but grim and focused instead. Oh. She’d known, somehow. 

The noises ended, and the others returned to wave them forward. They’d hidden the bodies, and killed them fast enough to avoid another alarm, and that rattled her slightly. She wasn’t expecting this kind of combat capability from militia. 

They entered the stargate clearing, and Shikako left to create a line of trail markers cut into trees with Jack escorting her. She came back without the scroll and without triggering another battle. 

Ino followed as both groups clustered around the keyboard podium and listened from the back as they typed in the address for another world. That they’d traveled so far still left her slightly hysterical. 

The portal erupted as it had before, flooding her chakra sense and lighting the clearing brightly, but the foreign team made no move towards it. Jack started asking Daniel something, though. 

They were arguing over a small machine of some kind strapped to Daniel’s arm, but she couldn’t figure out what that was about before they were moving forward. Those two went through the gate, while the others waved her team ahead. She glanced up nervously at the glowing surface and was broken out of her growing hysteria by Shikako taking hold of her hand and sending her a smile. She swallowed thickly and did her best to smile back, and then let herself be pulled in. 

The world went blank around her as it had before, faint flickers of chakra she couldn’t make sense of moving around her, before reality slammed back into place and she had an alarm blaring in her ears and artificial light shining from above. 

The part that really struck her was all the soldiers pointing those weapons at her, though. 

She looked quickly from side to side before she heard the gate deliver the last two foreigners and their steps forward. She turned at a scraping sound and found a metal wall curling inward within the ring, contracting the exposed portal surface smaller and smaller until it sealed shut behind them, and the connection released. 

She let out a whine of distress before she could stop herself, as the horrified hysteria increased another notch. They closed it. No rescue could come if something went wrong. They were at the mercy of strange people in a strange place and she couldn’t understand them and- 

Healing chakra smoothed out her breathing and heart-rate, snapped her out of her line of thought, and continued channeling from her and Shikako’s joined hands, before retreating as she centered herself. 

She was going to be having words with her dad about how far she could go with transmission reports. Being this emotionally unstable was _awful_. 

* * *

Alarms started blaring, and General George Hammond jumped to his feet and jogged around his office desk to the stairway leading to the gate control room. 

“Unscheduled off-world activation.” echoed out of the speakers in the briefing room from Sergeant Harriman, as he clattered down the metal stairs. He slowed to a walk and stopped at the viewing window as the gate activated. The event horizon roared to life behind the titanium iris barrier as usual, before settling into the typical active hum. 

“Sir, we’ve received SG-1’s IDC.” Harriman called at his side. 

“Open the iris.” he ordered, before focusing back on the gate. SG-1 was on a hostile planet controlled by Apophis, so he let the security teams continue setting up a perimeter in the gate room, in case the identification code they’d received was stolen or the team was being pursued. Jack and Daniel came through shortly after at an easy walk. 

“Four friendlies!” Jack shouted, and the tense atmosphere relaxed somewhat. 

He watched as a group of teenagers made their way through the gate, a cheerful dark haired girl in green tugging along the blonde one in purple who glanced around, looking frightened. The boys were comparatively stoic, glancing around with interest. 

Teal’c and Captain Carter slid through the gate, before ushering them down the ramp as the iris slid shut behind them, and the gate quieted. 

He frowned, before leaning down to press the microphone talk button. 

“Welcome home SG-1. What’s the situation?” 

“First contact, Sir.” Jack started, “We followed the refugee handbook.” 

Well. That was an unusual combination of events, given their destination. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised, anymore. 

“Defence teams, stand down.” he called, before releasing the intercom and moving through the side door that lead down to where the team stood with his most recent group of alien guests. Glancing over them, he got mixed impressions from their clothing. They had signs of typical teenage rebellion, like exposed skin or hooded coats, but they also had standardized pouches and vests in common with military organizations. The girl in green appeared to be wearing some kind of dancer’s leotard that had been redesigned for use outdoors, with the most earth-like being the disgruntled boy in the shirt with a tall upturned collar, similar to what was popular a decade ago. 

All of it together was like seeing people of modern Earth, but a step or three to the side, rather than the forward or back they were familiar with encountering. He had a feeling he would need extra coffee before the briefing, just to deal with the complications implied so far. 

Holding back a sigh at that thought, he moved on to his step in the refugee ‘handbook’, as it were. 

“Welcome to planet Earth. I am George Hammond, General and commanding officer of this base.” 

Doctor Jackson did a rather abbreviated translation attempt, that had him narrow his eyes slightly, before the dark haired girl in green stepped forward and bowed, hands clasped before her. 

“Hello. Shikako Nara, Jounin of Konoha.” she enunciated carefully, obviously still unpracticed. That didn’t change how impressive it was that she’d managed to learn even a fraction of what was obviously not her world’s spoken language in the days SG-1 had been away. 

He nodded, before turning to Jack. 

“They’ve chosen her as their representative?” 

The suppressed scowl he got in response surprised him. 

“Yes.” he bit out tersely, even though he was obviously trying to hide his full displeasure from their guests. Given the glance Shikako sent him, he doubted Jack was succeeding. 

“I’ll schedule a meeting between her and the logistics office to handle any special needs that arise, and forward a request to anthropology for a translator.” 

“Actually, Sir…” Doctor Jackson interrupted, sheepishly. “I’d like to continue heading translation efforts personally.” 

He raised an eyebrow briefly, before letting out a breath and giving a short nod. “Very well.” 

It would probably be faster, and built-up rapport would be useful, but the continued interest implied things. Trouble, mostly. 

He decided he’d rather deal with the rest of this later, and that he’d accomplished the needed formalities. 

“Once you’ve been cleared by medical, report to the briefing room.” he ordered, before turning around and heading to the nearest coffee machine. He had to hide implied weaknesses like extra coffee or mercy so often, for years, that it was second nature to plan for them to be unnoticed. Either by people who would take offense; or worse, advantage. Sometimes he just wished the world would learn its lesson and be kinder. 

* * *

Shikaku shook off his disorientation at being released from Inoichi’s memory replay, and felt the familiar hum of the hokage office privacy barriers return. Focusing on the physical helped steady him against the conceptual disorientation, such as doorways to other planets. 

The replayed memory only covered from when Shikako-chan had run out of the room ordering expendable scouts deployed - solid plan, very flexible - to when she’d asked Sasuke about stars on the far end - the other _planet_ \- but it was still enough to give him serious pause. An artifact capable of that, and in their hands, was a strategic paradigm shift, and the first step would be logistics. 

Chouza had already recovered, and stood behind him and Inoichi with a puzzled look on his face. Aburame Shibi and Tsunade took a moment longer to recover, and while ‘parents of team members with clearance’ was an acceptable explanation for this briefing, he doubted it was the whole story. 

“So,” Tsunade started as she sat down behind her desk, her earlier grimace still going strong. “This is an S-rank secret, as will be the rest of this briefing. The first part you need to understand is that until we have the code leading back to this ring, the team is trapped on the far side.” 

Shikaku felt himself go cold as he considered that point. Agitated buzzing from his left pulled him back to the present, but reinforced the urgency. 

“The ring has been recovered, and will stay secured until the required facilities are constructed. Chouza, Shibi, I’d like you two to head operations.” 

He had an idea of where this was going, and decided to wait out the explanation. 

“Tsunade-sama?” Chouza asked, earlier puzzlement still in play. 

Tsunade flicked a scroll at him, before she summarized. 

“You, and any clan members with clearance you select, are granted access to records on the Shadow Clone Scouting Technique. I’ve included the provision amendment most commonly argued for by Akimichi when assignments are chakra-intensive.” 

No negotiation, just given as a matter of course; she was taking this seriously. Part of him unwound with that realization. 

She turned, “Shibi, any with clearance you select will be sending small swarms to accompany those shadow clones. You may organize the schedule rotation amongst yourselves.” 

He wished he could be directly involved, but running war ops with Kakashi was already leaving him stretched thin. He’d still have done it, if Tsunade had been any less serious. 

“Are communications open?” he asked idly, but full of intent in a way that made half-lidded eyes look _dangerous_. 

She glanced his way, searchingly. “Immediate family may send messages at Inoichi’s discretion, but the mission details are not to be shared. Mind transmission is currently on cooldown for another day.” 

Plenty of time to make preparations then. Though, judging by the way he was rubbing his face, Inoichi wasn’t amused with being thrown into making that choice. 

“A runner will be sent when everything is prepared, and anyone read-in will have clearance at the department checkpoint.” Tsunade continued. “The cover-story for the facility is the formation of a Seismic Analysis Department, to help predict and react to the growing frequency of natural disasters.” she finished with slightly intensified grimace. A small tell, but one that suggested those disasters might not be entirely natural. 

Why only pretend at investigating, then? 

“If anyone asks you about a jinchuriki being captured in Frost Country where the ring activated, or the suspiciously convenient training hall located in your new department, you are to deny the connection and insist it must be a coincidence.” 

That… was one hell of a cover story. And a bluff, which meant it had an expiry date. They’d have to make the best use of that time they could. 

Tsunade dismissed them, and after catching Chouza’s eye he moved to the next step. 

“Shibi.” 

“Shikaku-san?” 

“We’d be honoured if you’d share a meal with us to discuss matters.” 

When Shibi turned, he looked amused. 

“Of course. After all that your daughter has done to support the Aburame, I would be happy to open discussions further.” 

Wait, what? Inoichi coughed out an aborted laugh, and he turned to him. 

“She ruined Shinku’s month, and invited Shibi’s youngest to her club.” Inoichi said. 

“Her friendship with Shino and mentorship of Chiyako-chan are valuable, but it is good to see people remember Yuhi-sensei was jounin over my genin team.” Shibi finished, sounding pleased. 

He was being overworked far too hard if he managed to miss this. 


	5. Well-Being

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was challenging in that I realized I had to write most of the next one in order to prevent plot-holes before I could release it. It finally passed inspection. I have a strong aversion to ret-conning, apparently. Also, this is the last of the forum-referenced material, so it can be as wild as I want from here on out. That extra degree of freedom has been its own challenge.
> 
> Many thanks to Gingerspark for creative assistance, and to Damon and Dona for beta reading.

Shikako glanced around with interest, not bothering to hide her actions. They were being led by ‘SG-1’ and followed by a pair of soldiers that Jack had recruited for babysitting.

The halls were bleak concrete, but had lines painted on the floor with various colours following different branches at intersections. The floor of the military base was numbered 28, though it took her a few seconds of focus to clarify what that meant. They were at the bottom, which meant this was a bunker. The deepest one she’d ever heard of.

The chakra traces here were faint, despite the obvious vigilance. Apparently without chakra training spiritual imprints were much smaller. Though, there was one room several floors away that was more deeply imprinted than the rest. Maybe Sam’s room? It was possible her unconventional chakra network would have that effect.

The bunker was full of people despite the strange traces, but still no chakra adepts. It came as something of a relief, being reasonably sure of their capabilities.

The group came to an elevator door, which opened and promptly confused her entire team.

“ _A closet?_ ” Ino asked.

Shikako followed Jack in without hesitating before turning and looking over the controls. She waved them inside before answering.

“ _One of the buttons matches the painted labels. They probably went through the trouble of making mechanical lifts._ ”

“ _Probably, she says._ ” Sasuke muttered, as he eyed her suspiciously.

The first babysitter pressed a button and the doors slid shut. The upward jolt had everyone tense to varying degrees, mostly her team. Sasuke looked like he was contemplating creative exits, but she raised an eyebrow at him and he settled back down with a huff.

She resisted the urge to hum a tune, since with her luck she’d pick something recognizable.

The doors opened, and they filed out to resume their march to the clinic. Or rather, ‘Infirmary’, according to the signs.

“Janet!” Jack called ahead.

A short woman with dark red hair and wearing a white lab coat walked out of a side office, carrying a clipboard.

“Jack.” she replied, eyeing him. “You’re early.”

“I couldn’t keep myself away any longer.” Jack said, grinning.

He definitely deserved the suspicious look Janet directed at him, before she turned her gaze over the rest of the group.

Shikako waved cheerfully. “Hello.”

That earned a surprised blink. “Er, hello.”

Janet turned back to Jack, frowning. “I don’t usually get off-world patients I can understand.”

Daniel covered a cough. “She’s a quick study. The usual gestures will smooth any misunderstandings, and she seems comfortable interpreting.”

Janet looked pensive but nodded. “Anything else?”

Jack attempted to summarize.

“Refugies, passed the rations allergy test, freaked out Sam because of some energy field that makes them feel like hosts, but pass the naquadah test. Oh! They want to keep an eye on their blood, so warn the lab techs.”

If Jack was attempting to piss off Janet and Sam… well, he succeeded.

“You fed them rations for medical experimentation?” Janet hissed.

“Whoa! Hey, the medic girl said it was fine.” he said, waving in her direction.

Janet eyed her carefully but looked mostly unimpressed.

Shikako felt entirely justified scowling at Jack with Sam, after that.

Jerk.

She took her team to an out of the way corner of the room, watching the process as she filled her team in on the newest conversation. The most interesting part of the exam was the imaging wand Janet moved over the human members of the team, on the neck specifically. Teal’c didn’t get more than a cursory look, which said things about his supposed enhanced immune system.

“ _Shino, I think you’re going to get the most attention._ ” she mused.

“ _I concur. Why? Kikaichu are hardly stealthy in this setting._ ”

“ _You think we should just roll with it?_ ” Sasuke asked, arms crossed.

Or an illusion powerful enough to interfere with medical exams, which was a terrible idea.

“ _They don’t appear to share our approach to combat partners._ ” she started, contemplating the problem. “ _And they’ve already seen medical chakra when we were finding a type they could understand._ ”

She’d have to convey that the bugs weren’t ‘parasites’, and she’d have to establish medical credibility to do it. Knowing the stakes would be helpful for that. She turned to face Shino.

“ _If they sedate you and start killing kikaichu, what happens?_ ”

Shino actually _shuddered_. She’d never seen him so expressive.

“ _First everyone else in the room dies as my flesh eating hive defends me,_ ” he started, “ _then the chakra hive disperses and drains every civilian to death within twenty meters via the ventilation. I would either die quickly from sedative overdose as my hives are overwhelmed, or slowly from infection after losing them._ ”

So pretty damn bad.

“ _And because you’re asking, they might really be that stupid_.” Sasuke muttered.

“ _Can we not do that?_ ” Ino asked tightly, face ashen.

“ _I’ll tell her that doing that will kill him, but I’ll also need to show off healing, I think._ ” she offered.

“ _If you’re sure._ ” said Sasuke.

And yeah, she wasn’t immune to ninja caginess. But she at least had perspective enough to realize when it was an advantage to abandon it, unlike most others.

She nodded, before focusing on where Jack’s team was gathering the equipment they had removed for their exams and moving out. Jack noticed the attention and waved.

“See you later kids.”

She raised an eyebrow before waving unenthusiastically. She couldn’t wait for communication to be sorted out so she could stop restraining her reactions quite so much.

Janet had just finished up a conversation with a medical guy holding a tray of empty test tubes, and once again focused on Shikako’s team.

“Hi there, you can call me Janet.”

“Shikako.” she said with a nod and smile.

She let herself be guided to a hospital bed, and sat there watching Janet explain the tests with words and demonstrations. They started with the wand thing, an ultrasound imager, on her neck. Tipping her head down slightly she held her braid up in a temporary twist, while Janet spread a gel on her skin and started pressing the ultrasound in various places high on her spine.

Once she’d apparently passed that test, whatever it was for, they moved on to the blood tests. She compared the process to Konoha’s standard, while observing detachedly. A couple of things done with chemicals instead of chakra or subtly different equipment, but nothing that worried her. She interrupted Janet’s attempt to bandage her arm when done, though.

Shaking her head, she withdrew her arm away from the cotton ball and tape. Resting her other hand on the spot, she sealed the wound with a more obvious green glow than was strictly necessary, before taking the cotton ball from Janet’s frozen fingers.

Glancing at the babysitter guard that had stiffened at her medical chakra, she wiped the blood away to reveal unmarked skin.

Janet was still staring shocked, so she moved her arm forward for easy viewing.

“Healthy.” she declared.

Janet twitched out of her frozen state before cautiously reaching for her arm and turning it in the light.

“Amazing.” Janet murmured, looking astonished.

She blinked. “Tests?”

Janet shook her head and gestured to switch two thing’s places. “No, you’re done for now. I need the next person.”

She nodded, before moving to grab Sasuke so he could loom over the guy holding her blood tests, instead of glare from a distance.

Supporting concerned friends was important.

* * *

Janet had examined two of the children so far, and determined them to be healthy, athletic teenagers, albeit with strange pathways winding through their bodies. They were free of Goa'uld and uninjured, if more heavily scarred than she'd expected.

With the second blood test, the first child had approached with glowing green hand to interrupt the bandaging again. The guards keeping watch were extremely uncomfortable with the situation, while Janet herself was juggling her mixed feelings of that particular ability.

Was it heritable? Was it taught? Healing small punctures was rather minor, but the girl showed no strain from repeated use. And, if her people could heal without visible mark, what did that say about the scars she had seen?

As she moved to examine the third child, the first interrupted earlier than she expected.

"Shino is healthy." the girl insisted, in accented but clear english.

"I need to run the checks anyway." Janet tried to reassure her, waving the ultrasound slightly.

"Yes," the girl nodded. "Shino is healthy," she repeated.

When Janet simply nodded and smiled at her, she retreated to the other side of the curtain.

She gave ‘Shino’ a reassuring smile and coaxed him through the examination, miming what she was going to do before each step. He was stoic as she asked him to remove his coat so she could access the back of his neck.

He was missing the tattoos she had spotted on the first two, on their wrists and neck respectively, but his skin was even more distinctive.

There were strange lesions across his neck and shoulders, small holes. Janet tried to avoid getting the ultrasound gel in them, given that she didn't know what they were. The initial scan showed him to be free of Goa'uld, but there seemed to be more movement than she expected on the scan.

Janet narrowed the focus of the scan, focusing on the little channels she'd found on the others. She had no idea what they were, but they seemed natural. On Shino, however, there were other channels running nearby with visible movement inside.

As she pondered possible explanations something small and black crawled out of one of the holes in Shino's skin. Janet recoiled, looking between the ultrasound display and the tiny insect that had just emerged.

Oh Jesus. He was full of bugs.

"Shikako!" The boy called, apparently having noticed her freeze in horror.

The girl from earlier poked her head around the curtain, before placing a glowing hand on his shoulder next to the crawling insect.

"Shino is healthy," The girl, Shikako, repeated with a grin, giving Janet a thumbs up.

She continued to warily stare at his neck, before Shikako’s serious voice dragged her attention away from it.

“No kikaichu, no healthy.” she intoned, pointing at his shoulder before dragging her thumb across her own throat ominously.

Janet nodded, composing herself.

That- alright. If he was full of bugs and still able to walk and talk, he was probably fine. Janet didn't have any idea what normal looked like for an adolescent who was healthy while full of bugs. She didn't think anyone on Earth did. The girl's earlier actions made a lot more sense with that in mind.

She took a deep breath, shoved down her instinctive revulsion, and continued with the exam. Avoiding the small holes on his arm during the blood test was only a minor complication, and he simply nodded when she asked to swab one of the holes for pathogens.

While Shikako’s ability was of more interest in her field of work, she couldn’t help being so, so curious about how the insects were integrated into Shino’s body.

Something about Shino’s condition niggled, but she was fairly sure no established precedent existed.

When she had finished the tests, he held out a bug for her to see.

"Kikaichu." he said solemnly.

"Kikaichu." she repeated.

With that done, she moved on to the final exam on the fourth child; but she couldn’t help the rueful thought that accompanied it.

After Shikako and Shino had been so memorable, examining the girl’s narrow pupils with a light was comparatively mundane.

* * *

“Well?”

Shikako glanced at Sasuke where he sat across from her. They were in a far corner of the medical lab quietly watching as a pair of technicians worked. The body guards stood at the far end of the room, on either side of the door.

“Where should I start?” she asked, instead of pouring out every conceivable deep secret.

She’s the one who befriended Ibiki-taichou, not him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “The writing. It shows up in your seals.”

“It does.” she agreed. She’d made sure her back was to the guards, so she could use her hammerspace without having to get creative with illusions or something to hide it.

She pulled her flying thunder god kunai out and twirled it by the hilt ring.

“Um. Shikako?”

“Yes, Ino?”

“Is that what I think it is?”

“You’re the mind reader, not me, but probably.” Was it obvious she was stalling because of discomfort? Sasuke looked pretty annoyed, either way.

“Is this relevant?” Sasuke asked.

She nodded. Carefully, now...

“This isn’t the only Hiraishin I’ve encountered. I was transported when I was very young, and I was lucky enough to have some sealing knowledge, or I would’ve been trapped, with no way of getting to Konoha.”

That was nice and vague and all technically true. Though for sealing knowledge, it was more ‘they exist in a manga and do cool things’ than any deep understanding.

“Wait. You went _here_?” Ino asked tightly.

Shikako hummed. “I doubt it. The language is the same, but I suspect anything I learned there is only going to be comparable in broad strokes.”

“What?” Sasuke asked wearily, rather than the usual flat tone.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I could feel thousands of these in Konoha, and most aren’t in our Konoha. No seal, and moving the stuff nearby doesn’t change them. There have to be alternate versions of the universe running side-by-side; and while travel between them is usually impossible, we’ve seen plenty of crazy things.”

“How many alternate versions do you estimate exist?” Shino asked.

“It’s… probably infinite. I can only feel the kunai in versions that share enough of our history that they exist, but I can think of no reason it would be limited.” she admitted wryly.

“You can’t be more specific?” Sasuke asked.

She shrugged. “I still don’t fully understand what happened, and I want to avoid being more stranded than we are now.”

That would be particularly horrifying, combining another planet with alternate universes. They might never get home, then. Besides, her method of travel involved reincarnation, and she made the ‘no dying’ rule herself.

“Wait, how did no one notice you missing?” Ino asked.

“Oh, that one took me a while to figure out.” she grinned, genuinely pleased. “The Hiraishin has a time travel clause in it. You always arrive exactly when you left.” She got the feeling the fourth hokage had messed up _a lot_ when testing the formula, for that to be in there. She still couldn’t figure out how he hadn’t ended up stranded in a distant alternate past or something, though. “The time doesn’t sync up between alternate universes, so defaults to the last local activation.”

Ino was looking at her like she’d grown another head, but Sasuke was staring into space.

“Crazy seal masters.” he muttered.

She flushed, but knew it was useless to insist she wasn’t a master of anything yet, and that he should really stop grouping her with them. “Anyway, no time passed, and I didn’t think anyone would believe me without a mind scan. I’m very private, so it became my secret.”

“Far less private than most, with your tutoring.” Sasuke prodded, eyebrow raised.

She gave him a flat look. “This isn’t a chakra trick, more like an incident. And going through the police reports, we already saw how Itachi was viewed right before the massacre. Would your word have swayed anyone back then, if you’d known then what you do now?”

A low blow, but she needed this framed correctly; even if she had to skirt topics that made her just as uncomfortable. She still felt guilty about that night.

Sasuke twisted his face into a disgruntled grimace, before nodding at her point.

“So we have to accept that strange events outside of our control happen often to Konoha children, and we’re probably just the surface of it.” she finished.

Shino flinched, before freezing his posture at an awkward angle and buzzing with agitation. The three of them turned to stare at him.

“Another?” Ino murmured weakly.

Seeing as Shino didn’t look comfortable sharing his mysterious childhood incident, she moved things along.

“Leave him alone. It’s his secret to do with as he wishes. Mine is only getting dragged out to protect you all from being blindsided.” Shino relaxed as Sasuke straightened up.

“Right. So you have their language. Are you going to let Ino take it?”

There was no faking her resigned look at that. “Yes. I need to spend more time than I usually do meditating on my clan techniques, smoothing out rough edges I’d normally work around. I also have to make sure the S-rank secrets are secure, while the reality-bending memories won’t accidentally bend Ino.”

_A field of stars, concepts too big for a human stretching her spirit in ways she wouldn’t inflict on others. A world gone wrong, time stuttering along in fits and starts, the gaze of a malevolent other tearing the last barriers away…_

She shook herself from the recollections to find Ino glaring at her. “You did _what?_ ”

She blinked and frowned. “Ino?”

“Of all the- Shikako, do you even understand how dangerous it is to work around problems like that rather than through them? That’s like a starved Akimichi trying to use Full Expansion!”

She winced, because of all the things she expected to be yelled at about today, this wasn’t one of them.

“We’re at war,” she started, weakly. “and before that my team had horrible missions. It was all I could do to _survive_.” She hadn’t fallen into the black thanks to her gelel stone, and her shadow split was under control but rarely used. Apparently the lack of consequences wasn’t stopping Ino, though.

“Have you not seen how ridiculous my reactions have been lately? Straining a mind used for mind techniques leads to side effects. With how your clan arts work…” Ino trailed of leadingly.

Spiritual techniques. Gradients and tears, overshadowed by life energy and mental attacks. She could be weighed down or making twisted decisions, and all the normal outward symptoms would be hidden by her unconscious choice to be fine, because her friends needed her to be fine. Not that she thought that was actually happening.

“Huh. I thought it was the mission.” Sasuke commented.

“Partially.” Ino admitted.

“So we need to force her to take care of herself?” he continued.

“Convince.” Ino corrected, “It’s about being healthy, instead of just functional.”

Shikako winced again, because she really didn’t like checking her spiritual condition against the ‘healthy’ scale. It was depressing, and was often futile back when she still did it regularly.

It also meant she’d have to dig into that moment of extreme terror she’d been trying to forget feeling when they’d scouted SG-1’s camp in stealth and she had realized exactly who they would be making first contact with.

“I’m sitting right here.” she mumbled, instead of pondering that further.

“And you’ll be sitting right next to me when we both meditate to recover our equilibrium.” Ino smoothly continued. “You need to refine your mind transmission now that you’ve started using it, anyway.”

“Wait, what mind transmission?” Maybe Ino was the only one struggling with side effects, afterall.

“I Told You So.” Ino said, with a quoting gesture. “Tsunade got your loud thought, by the way.”

Oh. Oh no.

She was suddenly glad to be on a different planet.

Not because of that thought reaching Tsunade, but because gossip would cost her plausible deniability, and she doubted she’d get the same leeway as Kakashi-sensei.

Her realization must have shown on her face, because Sasuke interrupted. “You didn’t think the mind reader would hear that?” he asked, amused.

“Umm.”

“She was preparing to use her clan technique; you even warned her.”

“Oops?”

“Will you cooperate, or do I need to invoke alliance charter?” Ino asked.

Shino turned his head rapidly between everyone, listening with a raised eyebrow. Meanwhile she was ready to end this interrogation with a tactical retreat.

She made a face. “Ugh. Fine.”

It didn’t matter that she could reasonably contest that InoShikaChou charter invocation, it would only delay the inevitable. She really did need that language transfer to protect her team, and it seemed it was finally mission relevant that she be as spiritually healthy as possible, too.

That last point really highlighted how strange this mission was, but still wasn’t enough to promote it higher on the crazy list. Yet.

* * *

Teal’c sat stoically in the briefing room, having arrived earlier with Colonel O’Neill. General Hammond still sat in his adjacent office, not yet including himself until the rest of SG-1 arrived.

After the medical testing Captain Carter had diverted to her lab to run an analysis, while Daniel Jackson was now entering the room with a stack of books and the language notes he had moved to retrieve.

“Daniel.” O’Neill greeted, while he merely nodded respectfully.

“Jack, Teal’c.” Dr. Jackson replied, before beginning the familiar motions of arranging his research.

Teal’c was puzzled, as he often was, by the reactions of his comrades. It had once been a regular occurrence, but recently he had learned much of their culture and foibles. He was fluent enough in their language to explore them directly now, rather than through the translation of Dr. Jackson’s Abydonian accented goa’uld.

What puzzled him firstly was Captain Carter’s dismissal of spiritual belief as a vessel for tangible power. The entire Goa’uld empire they warred with was built on the lie that those accursed snakes were gods, and even beyond that the jaffa warriors that served them believed in more than just those leaders.

Afterlife in Kheb was a powerful motivator to be a great warrior, afterall; regardless of allegiance. The children’s potential spiritual leanings could very well have such power as well.

His second point of confusion was from Colonel O’Neill, and his disdain for the ways of these alien children they had sheltered. They seemed normal enough by his standards. Disciplined, mature, without losing the brightness of youth; and enjoying their strength before the crushing duty of adulthood pulled them from those comforts. They would be great, when they had finished growing into themselves, much like his own son.

O’Neill seemed to care little for that legacy.

He was rarely bothered by not knowing the exact details of a people’s motivations or technology, likely because it was so rare to learn such things in his former position as First Prime of Apophis. Military leadership for the Goa’uld only let you learn weaknesses, not strengths.

So he would wait and watch, and learn from the children by what they didn’t do and didn’t say, and that would be enough for him.

* * *

Janet walked briskly into the crowded briefing room, carrying a stack of medical files and a mug of coffee.

She could fully understand the flurry of activity Sam and Daniel were in, after examining the children they had returned with. She had answers, but also many more questions.

“Let’s begin.” General Hammond called, and the chatter quieted. “Colonel, is there anything important we need to review from your intelligence mission?”

Jack shook his head. “A bust, Sir.”

“Then start with your encounter with the alien refugees.”

“The mining outpost kicked up a fuss, and we withdrew to avoid detection. An hour later a girl walks directly into our camp, well away from all the activity.”

“Your camouflaged, high stealth camp?”

“Yep. Not sure how she tracked us down.”

That would likely cause some concern later. Janet made a note on her file to consider sensory implications of the test findings once they were processed in the lab.

“And the rest of the group?” Hammond continued.

“Expertly hidden, beyond even my ability.” Teal’c interjected.

The general startled at that, before focusing on Teal’c. “We’ve assessed your tracking skills as first rate.”

Teal’c nodded. “They move silently unless sparing attention to make noise.”

“Do we have an explanation for this?”

Sam’s head snapped up at the question. “They claim to have a sixth sense that centers around energy manipulation. I took sensor readings as the Shikako girl demonstrated three varieties of expressing that ability. It’s possible that there are more.”

General Hammond turned to her. “They aren’t human?”

“Preliminary results show they are similar.” Janet hedged. “They have an extra set of pathways running through their bodies that could very well be part of a circulatory system.”

As much as her medical curiosity pushed her to investigate, these were children and she had to frame them closely to humanity to maximize their rights and latitude from the joint chiefs. The Stargate Command leadership could be trusted, but past problems with politics were common enough that she was cautious.

General Hammond huffed before turning to Jack. “Continue, Colonel.”

“Shikako introduced herself, pulled out some paper and drew out an explanation of her team getting stranded after digging up a stargate, and then Sam noticed she felt like a host.”

“It appears the energy they have is detectable to hosts and ex-hosts.” Sam added. “She and the others are able to hide or amplify the energy with effort. I still don’t think we have enough evidence to say they can find humans by that sense, but Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c disagree.”

Jack continued, but with a growing scowl. “After we sorted out that explanation, she called in the others. Important highlights for their gear are ballpoint pens, a naquadah sword, and a pile of pointy steel.”

Daniel shot Jack a look, his first reaction away from research thus far. “Their first aid kit looks fairly modern, and they recognize radios, so they have more than throwing knives. If not for the speed of language comprehension I would rate them slightly behind us in development.”

The general leaned forward at that. “I was under the impression you met them days ago.”

SG-1 exchanged several looks, before Jack answered. “No Sir, it’s been less than a day. They had, what, maybe four hours of conversation for Shikako to reach her current level?”

Daniel nodded. “She isn’t as fast as the Nox, but enough to be a strong indicator of an advanced race.”

That complicated things. No matter how human an alien race was biologically, Janet couldn’t do much to dissuade exploitation if they were advanced enough to be a military asset. It would be up to information security to protect them, and that was incredibly frustrating for her.

Daniel moved to the television and played the video of the campsite equipment search. She smiled slightly at the mention of the lab’s being her domain, but not before she had narrowed her eyes at Shikako hugging Shino during the food test. Her left hand was visible on his wrist’s pulse point, but her right hand had been hidden against his back.

“Shikako can heal injuries with a glowing green hand,” She said once it ended. “And her right hand was hidden during that test.”

“So that’s what it does!” Sam burst out, before diving into her notes and scribbling new writing in.

“What did she heal, Doctor Fraiser?” General Hammond asked.

“Bloodwork needle punctures, but she also confirmed Shino’s health when I raised concerns, so I suspect diagnostic abilities. She finished in seconds and showed no strain. Spooked the guards, though.”

Jack smiled at that, and it wasn’t hard to guess the direction of his thoughts. Big tough military men jumping at the sight of little girls. She hoped the base gossip went the betting pool route this time, instead of blackmail. She didn’t need fights breaking out again, especially when she’d have to clean up after them.

“And the full medical summary?”

“They are well fed, athletic teenagers, and appear healthy, though I lack a baseline to compare them to.” She flipped open her files to look for her name. “Ino has unique eyes, but they appear natural to visual inspection. Shino, on the other hand,” She paused, bracing herself for explosive reactions. “Is harbouring a colony of insects within his body.”

“He’s _what_?!” Jack shouted, incredulous.

“Healthy, but full of insects.” Janet repeated.

“No Goa’uld?” Daniel asked.

“No, just the insects. Shino called them Kikaichu.”

He absentmindedly wrote down the unfamiliar word while still focusing on her. “Are you sure he’s alright?”

“As sure as I can be,” So _no_ , but she was extending trust. “but Shikako is very insistent he is.”

“How can he be okay if he’s infested with fucking bugs?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know Jack.” she answered, frustrated. “But Shikako was quite clear removing them would kill Shino. Symbiotic life form living in his body, improving his immune system?” she asked rhetorically, waving a hand at the idle television, which had helped her make the connection she had missed earlier. “Sounds like a jaffa symbiote, and likely has similar implications.”

“Is there a containment concern?” Hammond asked abruptly.

“Not unless we give them a reason. Shino was able to call one to his hand for inspection, so he’s likely keeping them contained. They’ve been very cooperative.”

“And if the National Intelligence Department decides to _visit_ ,” Jack grumbled, “That could change.” He turned to Sam. “You said she shot lightning?”

Sam cautiously nodded.

“Well, I think we need a new rule: NID stay out of control rooms and labs. That way when they get fried trying to cause problems, the collateral damage is low.”

“What.” General Hammond asked flatly.

“Well if we could kick them out completely we already would have!” Jack continued, frowning. “The smell of roasted airmen will suck, but at least they won’t be ours.”

Daniel expressed the room’s misgivings with Jack’s explanation by sliding his glasses off and facepalming.

“Anything else, Doctor?” Hammond asked, staring at his coffee mug as if for answers.

“Despite being healthy now, they have many scars from past injuries. Mostly knife wounds.”

She hadn’t done a full physical, but what skin was exposed was scattered with those scars.

Jack scowled, “So they’re being made to fight?”

“Jack, we don’t know enough to say that yet.” Daniel said into his hands.

“I disagree, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c interrupted. “They are clearly warriors in training. Shikako’s reactions have been carefully crafted to disarm and distract.”

“Teal’c, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Jack whined.

He raised an eyebrow. “You did not ask.”

Jack deflated, and Teal’c continued. “They remind me strongly of jaffa children of Chulak; my son especially.”

“See, that’s the problem Teal’c,” Jack said, wearily. “They remind me of my son, too. Every child exposed to danger is a mark against the parent’s society. Hammond Sir, I don’t think she’s a spokesperson for them; I think she’s the commanding officer.”

Janet felt a twinge of sympathy. Jack’s son, who had died going through Jack’s bedroom drawers and shot himself with Jack’s service weapon. No wonder he was so upset about them fighting and having knives.

That the children had been acting so as to gain sympathy startled her slightly, but really didn’t change the direction of her thoughts towards them. Cassie had a bomb in her chest when she first arrived, a goa’uld-planted trojan horse, and that wasn’t enough to dissuade her or Sam from adopting her. At first metaphorically, but eventually Janet made it official.

Daniel straightened his glasses and notes, “If we assume a warrior caste, their culture’s adults will be many times more dangerous than they are. I’ll see if I can coax an explanation of their military structure out of Shikako, so we can fit them into that picture. On the bright side, they’d probably be the right people to talk to about war alliances.”

“On the downside,” Sam added, “If the kids get hurt here they’re also the people making war declarations.”

Daniel shuddered, but nodded. “Yeah.”

The room was silent for a moment at that. Likely following her in considering the high stakes SG-1 seemed to fall into.

“They left a note behind, near the gate.” Jack said, breaking the introspection. “So it might be wise to keep tabs on that planet for more activity.”

“Agreed.” said General Hammond. “Other teams will handle watch duty while Doctor Jackson is busy with translations.”

The general stood up. “You’re all dismissed. Jack? Show the teens to a guest bunk room. The logistics meeting is tomorrow, so they get the basics for now.”

* * *

_Awake!_

Shikako held a kunai defensively as she scanned the room for the threat. She hung from the ceiling, next to where Sasuke was stuck to the wall, sword drawn.

“Again?” Ino whined from her other side, while Shino sat in the watch rotation chair across from all of them.

She sighed, then put away the kunai and hopped down to search her pack for sealing tags.

The feeling of a rampaging biju coming from the stargate several levels away vanished, as it had the other two times.

Yeah, she and her team were done with these interruptions.

She slapped a barrier tag on each surface, and her chakra sense was suddenly restricted to their small room. Uncomfortable, but necessary.

“There. Chakra isolation barrier. Sleep.” she mumbled out, before swaying over onto her bunk.

She caught a flash of amusement from Shino, before he focused elsewhere.

She was too tired to grumble about it.


	6. A Frank Exchange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m avoiding answering comments directly for several reasons, but I got the urge to answer some of the questions posed so far. See the end notes for those. And yes, I’m poking through The Culture ship names for chapter titles now.
> 
> Many thanks to Gingerspark for creative assistance, and to Damon and Dona for beta reading.

Shino was deeply grateful Shikako outranked him. 

Shikako-hime, that is. 

Being an ‘heir’ to a noble clan had its eccentricities and particularities, such as lessons and meetings involving the fire daimyo’s court. Trading luxury goods with traditionalists meant strict control of appearances, including a male spokesperson; even if his clan was lead by a matriarch. 

In those meetings, he was surprised to hear of a peer in their gossip. The fire lord’s daughter had even confided in him her admiration for Shikako’s many public talents, artfully on display. 

At first he had been perplexed, but conferring with his father revealed a string of political allies spanning the continent, all willing to support Shikako in various ways. It was enough that trade had shifted in many areas in clear support of Konoha. Apparently some nobles had even taken the Princess Gale movie Shikako had debuted in as an eccentric alliance declaration on Koyuki-hime’s part. 

Shikako showed no signs of noticing. 

Further, she did show signs of using political games within the village to destroy the peace and reputation of those who wronged her or those under her protection. Her protection of his sister a notable example. 

Chiyako-chan, who would one day be his matriarch. 

So no, Shino did not want to be in a position to give her orders, because despite his disagreement with how she had deviated from protocol in this mission, to protect _him_ , it was _working_. 

Given yesterday’s conversation covering clan arts, he was resolved to keep these thoughts, including the honorific, to himself. Though at the rate she had been making allies, soon Shikako would no longer be able to avoid personally managing the political wake of her past actions. It was in fact highly likely she would be assigned a three month rotation in the tower just to ensure she understood the full implications. 

He suppressed a flinch as the chakra doorway nearby activated once more, the flare driving his teammates to various states of bristling violence. Then Shikako took yet another risk, blinded half the tracking experts with an isolation barrier, before returning to her bunk. 

Sacrificing one of her greatest combat strengths for the sake of her team’s comfort. Typical, it seemed, and also a show of trust in his ability to watch with that limitation. 

He very much looked forward to her reaction of her legend catching up with her, with how amusing her accidental telepathy had been. 

* * *

Daniel walked leisurely through the SGC, making his way to the bunk room assigned to their guests last night. He’d make sure they were awake and aware of the meeting schedule before escorting them to logistics. Since the blood tests wouldn’t be ready for a few more hours yet, he would have to leave them with whatever rations they had on hand. Perhaps by lunch time they’d be cleared for the mess hall. 

Food was a good way to lower tension and cover more vocabulary, so sharing meals with guests tended to be fairly productive. 

He turned a corner and Jack stepped up beside him, matching his pace. “Morning, Jack.” 

“Daniel.” Jack returned, staring ahead intensely. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the tone, searching Jack’s face for clues. “Something I should know?” 

Jack grunted. “Second in command stuff, and just a hunch for now. I’ll let you know.” 

He hoped the teens hadn’t caused problems. 

As they approached the room Jack signaled for him to stop before having a quiet conversation with the current guard rotation. When they finished Jack waved him forward and he knocked. 

He saw a flash of blonde hair through the door’s small window before the latch turned. Ino pulled the door open while holding a half-eaten granola bar, her hair damp. It seemed she’d been taking advantage of the shower in the connected bathroom. 

He smiled reassuringly. “Good morning, Ino.” 

Ino pouted at him, before turning and calling, “Shikako!” 

Shikako walked out of the bathroom, less the utility vest but otherwise dressed the same as yesterday, toweling her hair. She blinked between them before a rapid fire conversation in the still unknown language shot between the two girls. 

Then Ino nodded before turning back to him sharply and carefully sounded out “Good morning, Daniel.” in reply, before turning a smug grin on Shikako. 

Shikako stuck her tongue out in retaliation, before sending him a questioning look. 

The conversation about disarming behaviour flashed through his mind again but he decided to take them at face value until forced otherwise. 

“Once you’re done eating, I can lead you to the supply meeting and help translate any requests.” He wasn’t sure if he conveyed all that clearly without his note paper out, but Shikako still nodded slowly. 

“Food, then talk.” she recited, before nodding firmly and turning around to spread that plan to the boys sitting on bunks watching the exchange. 

He smiled, bemused. 

* * *

Jack wove his way through the corridors towards the security room for the guest section of the base. He’d just confirmed that besides what appeared to be a watch rotation, the kids had slept fine for the later half of the night. 

Unlike the first half, which the other rotation had reported repeated disturbances involving all of the guests. 

There wasn’t a camera in that room, but he suspected the reactions of the airmen in the hallway would be enough. 

He let himself into the security office with his key card, nodded to the on-duty airman, before flipping switches until he had the most likely suspects brought up on four monitors. Synchronizing time-stamps, be played the guest hallway, the labs, the gate room, and the surface entrance. 

It took some fast-forwarding and rewinding before he spotted the first disturbance, airmen glancing through the window as an incoming wormhole triggered an alarm in the lower levels; well out of hearing for anyone that far up. 

He found two more incidents before the pattern stopped, and that narrowed the time-frame down considerably. Marking that range down, he pocketed the note before sweeping off towards the lift so he could follow up with Carter in her lab. 

A lift ride and some corridors later, and he was walking into Carter’s lab; where she glared at a computer screen. 

“Carter-” he started, then sighed. “Playing with the lava lamp again?” 

In the middle of her desk was the small machine with emitters harvested from the tip of a staff weapon, wires running to her computer, and a blob of orange plasma slowly rippling above it. 

Carter’s annoyed twitch of suppressed displeasure was just as satisfying as always. 

“Yes, Sir. You needed something?” she finished, going back to scanning her computer screen. 

He nodded firmly. “Yep. The kids were up to something. Need to look up the base sensor logs that cover gate emissions.” 

She nodded, began to pull up the logs, before sending a verbal jibe his way. “Are you actually sure this time, or is this another hunch gone off the rails?” 

“We’ll see, won’t we?” he muttered, moving beside her to get a view of the records. 

He pointed to the timestamp, where a noticeable dip started in a few of the lines. 

“That’s-” Carter started, before humming. “Those are on the far side of the guest rooms relative to the gate.” To Jack that sounded very close to confirmation. 

She pulled up a digital map of the base, a black backdrop covered in a stack of white rectangular outlines, and started dropping dots in various places. Their budget had always been more focused on operations than security, from what he couldn’t avoid hearing from Hammond, and not having this sensor thing already mapped was rather telling. 

Setting that aside for now, he focused back on the core issue. 

“The kids were woken by the gate three times.” He started, “You reported being able to feel it after the Jolinar incident?” He was hazy on the details, since they’d already known Goa’uld could detect the gate after Hathor had wandered into the mountain and started brainwashing the men with pheromones or whatever it had been. 

“It feels kind of like a warm breeze.” She confirmed, before pointing at the map. “I’ve updated the wireframe. Judging by these readings, the gate signal was shadowed by at least the cross section of their room.” 

The gate was sketched in and had lines ‘shining’ out from it towards a red brick marked higher in the base. A cone of pseudo-shadow projected out behind the brick and covered several sensor dots partially, with one fully inside the dark zone. Tiny line graphs bobbed like a heart monitor on most of them, but that dark one had no reaction to gate activations at all. 

“Has it stopped?” he prodded, checking his earlier note. 

“You think they set up a dampening field projector?” she asked in turn, scrolling ahead to more recent records using the thrown-together map. The ones in that shadowed area were different until twenty minutes before he’d followed Daniel to their room. 

“I think,” Jack began carefully, “that after I call Hammond and you send him a copy of that map replay, we’re going to go talk to our guests.” 

Carter frowned at him, though it seemed to be more concern than displeasure. “We can’t steal from them, Sir.” 

He grunted. “I know.” And did he ever? “But we’re going to ask if we can have one. I’m tired of security breaches from aliens following the gate, and if they won’t then maybe you can get an explanation of how it works out of them.” 

Making their own would be nice, too. 

“And if they say no?” 

“We won’t know until we ask. So let’s go ask.” 

* * *

Sam packed her 3D wireframe projection of Cheyenne Mountain Complex into a secure email and sent it to General Hammond as Jack spoke on her office phone in hushed tones and she considered today’s events. 

Jack was as eager as always to defuse his frustration on others with sarcasm and banter, which signalled a lack of imminent mortal peril. That was good. Sort of. 

Her plasma containment experiment was progressing slowly, so it was still a distant dream to build energy weapons and take the fight to the Goa’uld. She had explained the purpose of the experiment to Jack in the past, but he still insisted it was just a fancy alien lava lamp. She could have told him it was the first part to a big honkin’ space gun, as he called them, but then he might actually be interested; she had enough of micromanaging superiors in the past to be wary of explaining it properly. 

So, technical jargon and non-committal silence it was. 

But the revelation that the children had energy field technology was much more unexpected. She had seen signs of art and culture, Daniel’s usual areas. Beyond physical abilities which she’d have to confer with Janet to explore, she fully expected to be done investigating their guests in the role of physicist and engineer. 

Now she had to prepare herself for what might turn into either a diplomatic negotiation, a technology lecture, or a tense standoff and interrogation. A much more stressful day than she had anticipated, and she fully intended to internally blame Jack, no matter what happened. Outwardly, SG-1 would stick together as always. 

“Oh!” she said, before turning to the supply closet. She had a prototype gate-sensor array on a wheeled cart, from back when they had first designed them. It was too big for missions, but portable enough to move to the logistics conference room. 

Jack watched with a frown from her phone, before realization flashed across his face. 

“Carter dug out a spare sensor. We’ll do tests live to confirm.” he said into the handset. 

She let a small amused smile slide into place, while she waited for him to finish the impromptu briefing. 

Despite the added stress she might actually find herself enjoying whatever discovery was about to happen. Maybe they should pull Teal’c along? He might find the exchange interesting, and his insights from yesterday might be helpful. 

As Jack hung up the phone, she asked. “Should we get Teal’c to watch their reactions?” 

Jack paused. “Huh. I was going to have him hide in a nearby room to test the sixth sense tracking thing, but that’s even better.” 

He tapped a knuckle against the counter thoughtfully, before looking up. 

“I have an idea.” 

* * *

As soon as Shikako entered the conference room with her team, she had headed straight for the coffee machine and started making a batch, though she had to shoo Daniel away to finish. 

Now she sat with her emptied mug in front of her and fully satisfied. 

The old guy in charge of logistics here gave her the same impression of quiet competence she got from most senior desk-nin, so she was tentatively optimistic about this meeting wrapping up without breaking the pleasant dialogue Daniel had begun. 

She had managed to explain that because of ninja culture they preferred open spaces, and would be given a large store-room for their use. Daniel had apologized about the lack of windows while simultaneously scribbling down culture facts excitedly. 

She admired the enthusiasm, if nothing else. 

Beds, bathrooms, and desks were included, and the requests for a coffee machine and a medical bed had both gone smoothly. A training field, not so much. 

“We don’t have authority to let you out of the mountain, and we’d need you to speak english fluently before risking you in more public places.” Daniel explained. “When you get settled we can schedule a meeting with General Hammond to discuss options.” 

“Yes.” she sighed out, mildly petulant but seeing no choice. 

She was resigned to training by running in the halls with her resistance seals turned up several notches. Maybe if doing that annoyed them enough they’d let her team out? 

The request for her to meet with Daniel in his office for translations was also expected, but she would have to divide her time between Stargate Command appointments and her Konoha stuff. 

Though, that reminded her. She slid her translation doodles front and center, and started scribbling out a TV, A book shelf, and a radio. If her team was going to learn english they needed practice material, right? Pay no attention to her movie references. Nothing to see here. 

She had just slid the picture across to Daniel when Teal’c approached and entered the room. 

She sent him a glance as Daniel nodded at him, but since he didn’t appear to be participating turned back to Daniel and tapping the picture. “English tests.” 

“That’s… a good idea.” Daniel muttered, tapping the TV doodle. “Your people have television?” 

“Yes.” she smiled. 

“Our networks don’t reach underground, and I don’t think the base has cable… I suppose movies on tapes and music on compact discs would be possible.” He finished somewhat uncertainly, glancing at the logistics guy. 

“Within a limited budget.” he replied to Daniel’s implied question, eyebrow raised. 

“Book of options?” she strung together slowly. 

“Ah. Catalogues.” Daniel provided. “Yes, that would work.” 

During that exchange Teal’c had kept a close watch, standing across from her team as they sat along the meeting table. She hadn’t been overly focused on it, but she was sure Jack and Sam had just visited him, and were now slowly heading their way. A creeping suspicion started growing in her thoughts. 

The problem was that even if she was right, she couldn’t warn her team without either the message or their reaction giving them away. 

From the classified sensory squad evaluations she knew Ino had the next best passive range, and she felt Shino keeping his kikaichu close so active searching wasn’t a consideration. With that in mind she waited until just before Ino would have noticed the approaching soldiers and reacted by signing ‘spring the trap’, folded her arms in front of her, and sending a narrow-eyed stare at Teal’c; just short of a glare. 

He returned her stare flatly, arms folded behind his back. Meanwhile her team and the babysitting pair stiffened before the tension eventually reached Daniel. He glanced around in confusion. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Colonel Jack.” she replied flatly, looking to her team instead of him. 

“ _Sensory Squad details are still classified. Let them focus on me._ ” She said, glancing between them. 

“ _What gave us away, you think?_ ” Sasuke muttered, looking a mixture of alert and disgruntled. 

Careful of Daniel’s growing vocabulary, she replied. “ _Could be a follow-up for us finding them before. I’ll reverse the interrogation if necessary._ ” 

She turned back to find Daniel frowning at Teal’c. “What the hell has Jack done now?” 

That was a fair question, she supposed. They’d kept their packs with them, so there wasn’t much direct mischief someone could get up to. 

She couldn’t even be all that upset about the setup of it, since any curious intelligence ninja would have done something similar. Had done so even, what with that one time she’d led the special jounin party on a chase over to Gai-sensei. The difference was the enclosed space and armed guards that would attempt to corner them, so they should have known better. 

Teal’c unfolded his arms from behind him, one hand holding a walkie-talkie. He turned a dial before using it, so it was likely silenced a moment ago. Radio click signalling, then. 

“O’Neill, tensions are high. I told you this was ill-advised.” 

The approach of the SG-1 members gained some urgency. 

The look on Jack’s face as he entered ahead of Sam was interesting. He was deeply worried, but burying it under professional attentiveness. Tellingly, his first glance wasn’t to his squad, but to the babysitters. That they settled confirmed the interaction meant basically the same thing it did for her dad: He was in charge. 

That would simplify things, but meant remaining more wary of him than she’d like. 

Which was annoying, because she’d been quietly hopeful he was trustworthy. 

As Sam followed him in, she pushed a cart full of equipment ahead of her with a wheeled stick resting on the bottom shelf. If Shikako remembered correctly those were pushed around for distance measurement. They had done a decent job of obscuring the purpose of Teal’c’s presence, but jounin level awareness was clearly beyond what they were used to planning around. 

But then, maybe that was half the point. 

She settled slightly from her stiff readiness and refocused her unhappy gaze on Jack, where it belonged. 

“Jack, why are you making my job difficult?” Daniel asked tightly. 

Jack huffed, faking offense. “She can feel us coming from over half the floor away. They could slip between guard rotations!” 

Shikako raised an eyebrow at that. He was lucky she wasn’t intending to use her ability to feel the entire base to do more than allied-foreign-chunin-exam style observations. Sure, she might see more than he’d like, but if it really bothered him, he’d ship those secrets off-site. Or, more likely, attempt to ship _them_ off. Far from ideal. 

“I just got through an explanation of them liking open floor plans so they don’t feel boxed in. Cornered animals, Jack.” 

Sam winced, glancing between Shikako’s teammates worriedly. 

“They could have left if they didn’t want to finish the meeting.” Jack muttered mutinously. 

What the hell kind of reckless aliens was Jack used to dealing with? 

“And when you couldn’t find us, O’Neill of Earth?” She interjected idly. 

Clearly these people didn’t train in multiple disciplines, or these kind of diplomatic mistakes wouldn’t happen. She’d probably have to finish faking learning english tomorrow just to avoid allowing cultural misunderstandings to fester. 

“You’re kids, we’d have found you, even if it meant organizing a search. Training doesn’t make you invincible.” Jack retorted defiantly. 

Teal’c sent Jack a look, which seemed as thoroughly disbelieving as he could manage without abandoning his stoicism. She was glad someone was paying attention, though it was unfortunate it wasn’t the guy in charge. 

More concerning, she was once again being treated as a civilian child _for the second day in a row_. 

“ _Unbelievable._ ” She muttered. 

“ _Um. Shikako? Some context please?_ ” Ino pleaded. Jack narrowed his eyes at their conversation, but he would just have to wait. 

“ _They aren’t taking us seriously, and I don’t want to start throwing out flashy techniques to make them._ ” she replied extra calmly, mostly to see how riled Jack would get. 

Being treated as tentative equals was the implicit goal of the rules in those pamphlets she’d taken from the diplomacy department, from what she gathered. 

“ _Oh._ ” Ino muttered faintly. “ _Is this more first contact stuff?_ ” 

She hummed and nodded. 

The most annoying part was that she knew the best way to fix this, she just wished it wasn’t necessary. ‘Reverse the interrogation’ indeed. 

She spread her chakra out diffusely, layered it with neutral intent, and gently _pressed_. 

Slowly leaving her seat with her empty mug, she refilled it from the coffee machine, before turning and surveying the room. Daniel was pale and thoroughly distracted, but still breathing easily. The soldiers were caught midway between preparing weapons and fleeing, with the unconscious focusing of her intent from glancing at people causing flinches, paling, or in Sam’s case a shaky step back into the wall. 

Shikako looked Jack in the eye, watching his pupils dilate. 

“We are only children by your standards.” She replied belatedly, focusing the intent on Jack, while also bumping the pressure up a few notches so that only he would feel the shift. 

The cold sweat he broke out in was excellent revenge for yesterday’s snark. And today’s everything. 

She took a sip of her coffee, before moving this mess along. “Why are you here?” 

Jack scowled. “You have an energy dampening field. What can we trade for one?” 

Dropping the intent back to its undirected original level, she glanced at Daniel inquiringly while she thought about that request. 

“Er, well,” Daniel started, uncomfortably. “Trade.” he said, repeating the switching place gesture Janet had used. “Jack, I need specifics on the field to convey that.” 

“Their room blocked the gate’s signature last night.” 

“Oh.” Daniel blinked, before focusing back on her. “Chakra wall.” he said, miming a surface in front of him. 

“ _Did they figure out the barrier?_ ” Ino asked weakly. 

“ _Yep._ ” She drawled out, taking another sip. She reached into her vest and used the motion do disguise pulling a few ryo notes out of hammerspace. “Trade how?” 

She tossed the bills on the table, then sat down and dropped her intent. Sam pulled her composure back together while sending her wary glances. 

Jack seemed thoroughly puzzled now that money was the problem. Maybe he expected her to barter for goods or services? She had no reason to know what they had available, if so. 

They could get creative with the form of payment for a mission in the paperwork if SG-1 pushed that direction, but with basic needs apparently covered by their refugee policy it would have to be a really interesting offer. 

Daniel pulled an american bill out of his wallet and slid it beside her ryo. “What type of economic system do you suppose they use? Our currency is government regulated, but they could be using the gold standard.” 

Shikako hid a smile behind her mug at that ridiculous idea. Ninja destroyed what they could in war without hurting themselves, and outside of war took every advantage. Using a gold standard would be a disaster, though she was pretty sure you could convert between them. 

Unfortunately, that didn’t give her the current value in ryo; which rather limited her options. 

“ _Shikako, do you mean to exchange ryo at this year’s set gold value?_ ” Shino asked. 

She blinked in surprise, before turning his way. “ _You have the current value memorized?_ ” 

Shino inclined his head before digging out a small case from a vest pocket. 

Inside were a small strip of gold, a printed values chart, and a small measuring square. 

“ _I carry this conversion kit. Why? Noble clans must work around the daimyo court’s tendency to complete large transactions with gold bars._ ” 

That sounded tedious. But it did give her what she needed to setup the conversion. She turned to Daniel and began the translation of money and numbers. 

“Ryo.” she tapped the note. 

* * *

Daniel continued updating his notes, now that number systems had been shared and currency conversion had been negotiated through solid gold by volume. They’d likely have done it by mass, if Shino could fit a scale in his vest, but that also brought up interesting concerns about differing gravity, since according to Sam many measured weight instead of mass. She felt it better to just use the square to measure dimensions and accommodate for thermal expansion. He hadn’t even realized that could be a concern. 

He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened earlier, when Shikako had suddenly become impossible to ignore or dismiss. Almost certainly chakra, but that it could be used in such a way suggested it interacted with mental processes fairly intimately. 

More telling was that her fellow teens were both unfazed, and _unsurprised_. 

Being unfazed could be as simple as built-in or built-up resistance. Being unsurprised, however... 

He now strongly suspected that while she might not be especially high on the military hierarchy, Shikako could very well be near the top of a social one. He’d have to research roles that commonly appeared in societies with caste systems. 

Shikako was currently filling out a form printed on a scroll she’d pulled out after money translations. Jack and Teal’c were sat at the table now, and Sam had fiddled with the equipment cart before joining them. 

With a rustling of paper the scroll was slid across between him and Sam, the fields filled-in with space to spare for translations. The pictures seemed to be what captured Sam’s attention, though. 

“Emitters…” She mumbled, running her finger down the sketch of a box surrounding a gate, anchored at the bottom corners by small squares. And below that, an electrical box like those hung on the corridor walls. 

“You give us boxes,” Shikako explained, “I fill and power. Ready today for thirty days.” Then she tapped a price tag already filled with the conversion. 

Jack leaned over, and hummed consideringly. “Not the cheapest expense, but I could sell Hammond on the idea. You’re leaders won’t be upset with you sharing technology?” 

Shikako looked at Jack strangely. “No technology. Boxes locked. Service contract. B-type.” 

What. 

“‘B’, as in A, B, C, D?” Daniel asked weakly. 

The teens all looked at least subtly surprised; Shikako blinked rapidly, then nodded. “Yes. Types high to low.” 

One of the root languages of their people had to be shared with english then, and with the cultural connections and the honorifics he’d noted, the other roots would be from east asia. 

“Rankings.” He said in realization. “Wait, are you not soldiers in a national military?” 

Shikako shook her head. “Military service contract for Fire country first, other contracts second.” 

Which likely meant her ability to offer this contract was contingent on Earth not being an enemy of Fire. The length of the service might have implications, or it might be standard, but it wasn’t his area to be concerned with. He’d be discussing the ranking system later, since he’d already had plans to ask similar questions. 

“And how much for the technology?” Jack asked musingly. 

Shikako sent him a disinterested glance. “Ask my boss.” 

Jack’s sent her an affronted look. It was fairly impressive that she’d found one of Jack’s sore-spots after only one day. 

“We have to get you home for the good stuff. Sneaky.” Jack muttered, folding his arms. 

Ino looked like she was holding back questions, glancing between the two, but on noticing Daniel’s attention settled back in her seat. 

“So, er, did you need any other supplies?” Daniel said into the silence. 

Shikako gave a thoughtful hum. “Words catalogue for shelf, before other books.” 

With a nod he added a dictionary to his growing list. He’d have to lend her one of his until the requisitions came through. 

Jack glanced over the list with a frown, his expression clearing when he saw what she meant. Then his eyes shifted higher, and he gasped dramatically. 

“Daniel. You’re giving them a TV?” 

“They requested it for language practice.” He defended shortly. 

“Perfect. They can use The Simpsons. It’s the best medium to be introduced to Earth through.” Jack finished, full of authority. 

Jack’s favourite show. Of course. The annoying part was that he was sort of _right_. Civilian lifestyle would be covered fairly extensively. 

“Fine.” Daniel sighed, adding it in. 

He glanced up at Shikako, but she shrugged. “Done.” 

“One thing before we finish.” Sam broke in tentatively. She was still looking uncomfortable from that chakra thing earlier, but appeared to be forcing it aside. 

“This is a chakra sensor. Sort of.” she waved at the equipment cart. “We’d like to measure the blue and green ones.” 

Shikako gave it a long thoughtful look, before standing and moving to look down on a display screen with a gently shifting line graph. She lifted a cupped palm near it and filled it with gradually brightening blue glow until the line neared the top, before she repeated the process with the healing one. Stepping back, she waved her team up, before turning to him. 

“Take boxes to room. I will fill for chakra field then wait for General Hammond’s word.” 

With that, she swept out of the conference room with the other teens, the guards exchanging a glance and following. 

Daniel rubbed his face tiredly. Was it still morning? This was going to be a long day. 

* * *

Shikako finished writing out the extremely twitchy theft-protected barrier seal anchors, and added security seals to the hinged metal doors to lock them. Then she dug a handful of shuriken out of hammerspace and dumped them inside. 

She felt rather pleased with the solution. 

“Do I want to know?” Ino asked, her tone morbidly curious. 

“Gift wrap camouflage; The shaking sound has to be misleading.” she declared authoritatively, carefully hiding her smile. Ino didn’t look convinced with her act. 

“They also have machines that can take pictures through solids. Now all they’ll gain from it is confusion.” 

“Wouldn’t seeing nothing be more confusing?” Sasuke asked dryly. 

She pointed at him accusingly. “Don’t take away my fun. I’m having a bad day.” 

“About that.” Ino started, “Can we get a first contact explanation? Going blind isn’t helping my stress levels.” 

That was a fair point. 

“After lunch.” she decided, “I think I could use a second opinion on how I’m going about this, anyway.” 

Seriously, bullying the soldiers with chakra every time they disagreed with her was not a good long term strategy. 

“Good.” Ino said firmly. “You can get some meditation done until it’s time to eat.” 

Shikako indulged in wilting dramatically. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Assorted questions from the readers:
> 
> SG-1 Show - Shikako hasn’t seen it. She’s going in as blind as she did for Gelel and the other bonus-content of Naruto. We all know how that turned out.
> 
> Goa’uld and Ninjas - The ninja world has very clearly been free since at least the Sage of Six Paths, to their dubious benefit, and the Gelel Empire used chakra completely differently to how ninja do. Goa’uld wouldn’t tolerate that freedom so that limits potential interaction.
> 
> SG-1 Luck and Team 7 Luck - I’m not sure I can imagine ways for these two values to multiply with each-other, but I sure as hell am going to try.
> 
> Konoha Reactions - Exploring a broader Konoha reaction cross-section will become relevant as people realize some ninja have been on a scouting mission for an awfully long time. The continued calm of those closest to the problem will influence those reactions in both positive and negative ways.
> 
> Allergies - None. I have to carefully leave certain threads unexplored either because I don’t know, or because the impact on the plot is minimal. Things not explored: Earth Chakra Adepts in Asia, Summon Tribe Political Factions, Specific Linguistic Structure, Plagues, Legal Precedents. Some like the language thing I’d be happy to investigate more closely if I had an expert available to design a language, but it doesn’t seem worth the bother. Feel free to make snippets, story branches, or entire separate stories.
> 
> Timeline - We are currently in 1998, and S2E08 of SG-1 will be happening soon. We are also currently slightly before the Rice Fields Arc, since I didn’t want to work off partial information. This also puts us a year and a half before Naruto manga release, so whether or not it ends up existing won’t be plot relevant yet. I’m currently undecided on its existence, but I’m disinclined to have it be plot relevant ever.
> 
> Shikaku on Shikako’s troubles - He didn’t know. You can only help someone if you know they need it, and are available. Both angles will be explored in future.
> 
> Shikako’s English - She’s been using it as a secret code and translating songs and stories casually out of it, so she at least remembers the core vocabulary and structure. But yeah, not speaking it means wrapping her head around speaking it again, hence the accent and slow sounding-out of new stuff (proficiency rather than fluency).


End file.
